Naruto: The Ninja
by AgentZ4
Summary: Naruto comes to a decision after his battle with Sasuke at the Valley of The End. He decides to forget about Sasuke and focus on becoming stronger so that he can become Hokage and protect the village. Now Naruto will come back strong after his 3 years of training with Jiraiya. Post - time skip. Will follow Naruto Shippuden canon. Strong Naruto. Naruhina. Please review. ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter One

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH**

* * *

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly opened. He quickly closed them again as he remembered what happened last before he became unconscious -

FLASHBACK:

"Sasuke, why are you doing this? Please just come back with me to the Leaf Village," Naruto pleaded.

Sasuke just stared emotionless at Naruto, when finally he decided to speak,"Naruto… Just forget about it. I need power to kill Itachi…Power that the Leaf Village would never be able to provide."

"But Sasuke don't you understand that Orochimaru wants your body. He-" Naruto got cut off.

"Then so be it. If Orochimaru wants my body in return for the power and skills necessary to eliminate Itachi...Then I will gladly hand my soul to him a thousand times over," Sasuke said calmly.

Naruto took a breath before saying his last words before both of their final decisions, "Sasuke… I made a promise to Sakura. I swore to bring you back to her. So…EITHER COME QUIETLY OR I'LL BREAK YOUR BONES AND CARRY YOU BACK MYSELF!"

Sasuke didn't reply back but his answer was clear when he started preparing a chidori in his left hand. Naruto started forming a rasengan in his hand. Both of them had stopped talking and they just launched themselves towards eachother.

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

END OF FLASHBACK

Naruto opened his, quickly this time wanting to think about something other than his unfulfilled promise. Naruto slowly got up as he realized the sudden breaze coming from the hospital window. He turned to see the Great Toad Sage sitting on the window ledge.

"How ya doin kid," Jiraiya said with a giant smile plastered onto his face.

"I don't really know pervy sage," Naruto said sadly.

"Come on kid stop sulking. I've spoken with the Hokage and she has given me permission to take you out of the village on a trip. It should last about 3 years," Jiraiya said.

Naruto's face suddenly lit up as if he realized something amazing and he spoke, "That's great. That means I can train like crazy and get strong enough to rescue Sasuke!"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and shook his head. "Naruto…You will be training very hard during these years and some secrets will be revealed to you, but I must ask to do something. Forget about Sasuke. Leave him on his path. I've been where you are. I had to deal with all the feelings going on in your head now. But realize that Sasuke has become possessed by revenge. So much so that he will try and obliterate anything in his path that stops him from achieving his revenge. Look at what he did to you at the Valley of The End. Don't think he won't kill you. From what I can tell the only reason he left you alive is that he didn't want to follow his brother's footsteps in order to achieve power. Next time he will kill you." Jiraiya finally finished and waited for the blonde ninja's response.

Naruto broke eye contact with Jiraiya and mulled over his thoughts quickly before talking. "Jiraiya sensei..." Jiraiya was surprised when he was called sensei instead of the usual Pervy Sage..." I've thought about what you just said, and I can't give you my answer right now. I truly need to think about this alone for a while before I can come to a decision about Sasuke." Naruto finished and looked back up towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was truly shocked at the answer he'd been given. He had expected Naruto to shout about how he would never give up on Sasuke, and that he never goes back on his word because it was his ninja way. But what he received was quite unexpected. Jiraiya spoke, "All right kid take your time, but when you give me your answer make sure you don't regret it. That's all I had to say. When you get out of the hospital start packing...WE HAVE A LONG TRIP AHEAD OF US!" Jiraiya said with his old man pervy smile.

* * *

Naruto tried to think about his answer after Jiraiya had left, but was unsuccessful. He was released later and started walking to his apartment when he spotted Sakura and Ino at the end of the street. He decided that talking to Sakura might be a good idea. He wanted to know what she thought of Sasuke after what he had done to Naruto. "Hey Sakura, What's up?! I just got out of the hospital and I saw you here so I thought I should come and say hi!" Naruto tried being his old self in front of Sakura but it wasn't working out for him. How could he face her after he failed to bring back Sasuke. Naruto's train of thought was broken by...silence? He looked at Sakura to see her just staring at him. "Hey, Sakura what's up with you? Why are you being so quiet?" Sakura stared coldly at him before speaking.

"What do you want? I don't want to talk to you, just leave me alone!"

"What did I do that you're so mad at me?" Naruto said and regretted because what Sakura said next shattered him from the inside.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?! You failed to do the one thing you promised me...You didn't bring Sasuke back! After that you have no right to speak with me. You broke your promise-in fact I think you didn't bring him back on purpose! You probably thought that with Sasuke out of the picture that I would be all yours, But here's the truth Naruto...I HATE YOU! AND I WILL ALWAYS HATE YOU! NEVER TALK TO ME EVER AGAIN! I WISH IT WAS YOU WHO RAN AWAY! WE WOULDN'T EVEN BOTHER TRYING TO BRING YOU BACK...good riddance!" Sakura finally ended her outburst and looked straight at Naruto who looked like he was about to burst into tears. Naruto looked at Sakura right in her eye's that she meant everything she had just said. He stared at her feeling broken, and then just turned around and started walking towards his apartment. Sakura kept staring at him as he did so but he didn't care anymore.

* * *

He kept hearing her hateful words repeatedly playing in his head..."I HATE YOU! DON'T EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!"Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when he finally reached his apartment. He walked in and dropped face first onto his bed. He started thinking over what Jiraiya had said, and Sakura's behavior towards him. He felt he had finally come to a decision about his training and Sasuke, but before he could complete his thoughts he dozed off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Naruto woke up the next day, took a quick shower, put on his trademark orange jumpsuit and headed to where he thought he would find his perverted sensei. He had his answer.

Naruto got to the hot springs and spotted his sensei peeping through a small crack in the wall to see naked hotties in the women section of the hot springs. Naruto decided to end his fun.

"HEY PERVY SAGE! ARE YOU PEEPING TO SEE NAKED GIRLS AGAIN?!" The women heard this and immediately started leaving while Jiraiya turned his attention towards his student.

"Why'd ya have to go and do that? I was doing precious research over here. Anyway what are you here for? Jiraiya asked. He was surprised to see the boy so quickly. He couldn't have come to a decision so fast.

"Sensei,"Naruto started (notice Naruto's lack of Pervy Sage) "I've decided...that I will forget about Sasuke and focus on my training." Naruto stated all this very calmly. He made sure that he wouldn't ever regret this decision. Jiraiya looked at Naruto for a minute before speaking.

"I see, so you've made up your mind huh. I would've expected you to say that you don't ever go back on your word, and that you had to fulfill your promise to Sakura." Jiraiya patiently waited for his pupils reply.

"I broke that promise, when Sakura told me she hated me for failing to bring him back. I broke it when she said that she wished I was the one who left, and that she wouldn't even waste her time trying to bring me back...good riddance is what she said I believe. Because of all of this and what you said about Sasuke, I realized that I can't keep chasing after Sasuke. I need to focus on my main goal...To become the greatest Hokage ever to live. To have the strength to be able to protect everyone in the Leaf Village. And to hope that one day these very people will acknowledge me and my strength!" Naruto knew his goals and was ready to achieve them. Jiraiya looked at Naruto seeing a different determination that he had never seen before burning brightly within him. He smiled and then spoke...

"Alright Naruto! If this is your decision than start preparing for our trip! Meet me at the front gate of the Village in two days." With that Naruto headed back to start packing for the long trip coming.

* * *

Today was the day that Naruto headed out. He got ready and had already packed his backpack with his supplies. He headed out to the front of the gate.

Naruto saw the gate but was surprised when he saw a crowd of people over there. He started running to get a better look when he saw who it was. "Hey guys!" Naruto yelled. "Why are you guys all standing here?" Naruto looked at everyone there: Kiba, Shino, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata standing behind everybody with her head low.

"Hey Naruto!" Everyone said in unison.

"We were just here to see you off. We heard about you leaving for a while so from Lady Hokage so we thought we'd see ya one last time." said Choji.

"It was pretty troublesome if you ask me but Ino dragged me with her anyway." said Shikamaru.

"Thanks guys. I didn't think anyone was gonna see me off but I guess I was wrong." Naruto was actually very happy that people cared enough to see him off. Either that or they all were planning on having a party without him after he left...let's not dwell on the negative, he thought.

"Alright Naruto. Enough chit-chat, time to go." Jiraiya informed.

"Alright. Bye guys!" Naruto yelled.

"Bye Naruto!" Everyone shouted together.

"Man I'm gonna miss the Leaf."Naruto said.

"I'm sure you will but now it's time to focus Naruto." Jiraiya said seriously. "I'm going to train you from the ground up, reworking all your skills. We have to make you strong. So that you can protect yourself and meet your goal of becoming Hokage." Naruto looked up Jiraiya and saw the seriousness in his voice.

"Don't worry Jiraiya Sensei. I will become strong." Naruto said as he looked up behind him to see the last visible part of the Leaf Village...The Hokage Monument, where he looked to the right until he saw the Fourth Hokage...

_'Just watch me'_ Naruto thought with a burning determination in his heart.

* * *

Authors Note: All right. That took a long ass time for me to right. Hopefully people read this and like it. More chapters will come. The story will follow canon order except there will be changes in fights. I am not including Naruto's training because it will be mentioned during the story already. It also adds a bit of secrecy to him. Naruto is going to come back very strong, but not unbeatable.

Next Chapter: Naruto's Return


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter Two

* * *

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH **

* * *

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

* * *

Two men are coming back from a long, hard journey. These men were Jiraiya, one of the three legendary Sanin. And the other…none other than our blonde knucklehead ninja Naruto Uzumaki, except he's no longer the dead-last, knucklehead he used to be. Our two travellers are walking towards a familiar place. The Village Hidden in the Leaves. The gates open to reveal a lively village behind them. Naruto, and Jiraiya walk in and head right to the left to talk to the ninja's in charge of gate duty. Izumo, and Kotetsu.

"Hello Izumo. Kotetsu. We are here to report back to the village," said Jiraiya to the two gate guards.

"Master Jiraiya, you've finally returned to the village, huh. Didn't you take Naruto with you? Where is he?" questioned Kotetsu.

"He's right here," Jiraiya stated. "Naruto come here." Naruto took his first steps into the village after three long years. Naruto now wore black pants that reached right down to his ninja sandals, which were now black as well, and fit the space between where his pants left some skin at the bottom so none could be seen. He wore a darker coloured orange and black high collared jacket, which split into a small robe when it hit his waist in the back. His hair also grew out to drop on the sides of his face, not unlike Minato. And he had a Leaf Ninja headband with black cloth rather than the regular blue cloth. There was some sort of seal like tattoo just below Naruto's neck on his shoulder, but it was hidden by his jacket.

When Kotetsu and Izumo saw Naruto there jaws dropped. Then Kotetsu regained his composure and spoke.

"Well, well. Looks like the kid finally grew up, eh?" said Kotetsu.

"Hopefully he matured as much in his ninja abilities." added Izumo. There was no doubt from anyone of them that Naruto had grown in all of his ninja abilities. Naruto looked at them both and gave a smile, except it wasn't the same old knucklehead smile. This one showed warmth and strength, and maturity. Then Naruto spoke.

"I know I've grown...I'm not the same kid anymore, that much I can promise." Naruto said with confidence.

"Well don't let us keep you now. Go on to the Hokage Tower and report back with Lady Tsunade." Kotetsu said.

After that Naruto and Jiraiya were heading straight to the Hokage Tower when someone interrupted them –

"NARUTO?! Is that really you?!" Questioned a pink haired girl who turned out to be none other than Sakura Haruno.

Naruto turned around to see who had called his name, but after seeing it was Sakura he turned around and kept walking forward, and Jiraiya followed without a question.

Sakura had a dumb look on her face. 'What the hell was that. I'm damn sure that was Naruto even if he looked a little older. So why didn't he talk to me?' Sakura just kept asking herself without ever realizing that she had given Naruto the answer to her question's three years ago before he left with Jiraiya.

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya made it to the Tower and went up to the top to report back from their trip. Shizune was sitting at the front desk when she looked up to see Jiraiya. And from behind he walked out Naruto. Shizune's reaction was priceless when she saw Naruto's face. "Na- Naruto?" Shizune asked in a very questioning tone.

"It's me Shizune," was all Naruto said back. "We're here to report back to Lady Tsunade." Shizune was surprised first of all at Naruto himself, and secondly, his attitude and the fact that he said Lady Tsunade instead of Granny.

"G-go right i-in." Shizune was still in shock from seeing Naruto so grown up.

Naruto and Jiraiya head into Tsunade's office where they see Team 8, now known as Team Asuma. Everyone turns to look at the men that walked into the office. Choji and Ino could recognize Jiraiya, but they did not recognize the other man standing beside him. Shikamaru was wide eyed when he realized who the mystery man standing beside Jiraiya was, and Asuma just smirked.

"Hey who's that?" Ino thought aloud. Choji was about to ask the same question when he was cut off.

"C'mon guys. You haven't forgotten me have you?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Shikamaru said.

Everyone looked at Shikamaru and then at Naruto and stared hard at Naruto for a few moments when Ino finally shouted, "NARUTO! IS THAT REALLY YOU?!"

"Yes Ino," was all Naruto answered.

Ino was about to speak again before she was interrupted by Tsunade whose view was blocked by Team Asuma gathered together in front of her desk. "Team Asuma, you may leave now that you've reported back from your mission." Before Team Asuma left the office Naruto saw Shikamaru close the door behind him. Then Jiraiya started speaking.

"Hey Tsunade. How's life been in the village for the past three years? Any BIG changes?" Jiraiya asked in a very weird perverted way. Tsunade understood what he was referring to and the next thing Jiraiya knew was fist hit his face and he flew into a wall in the office.

"That was just a light tap…but next time you won't even be able to stand. Understood you pervert!" Jiraiya started getting up when Naruto walked up and helped him stand.

"You could've helped me ya know."

"I would have but you really deserved it. Hopefully this was a lesson to you Jiraiya Sensei." When Naruto finished talking he looked up to see Tsunade shocked at fully seeing his appearance and growth. She also noticed that Naruto did not call Jiraiya, Pervy Sage but instead just Jiraiya Sensei.

"Ok. Now that you're back I will need every detail of your training over the last three years so that I can rank you accordingly." Tsunade said waiting for Naruto or Jiraiya's response.

"Yes of course Lady Tsunade," Naruto said shocking Tsunade with his respect and lack of the word grandma when he addressed her. "But since Jiraiya Sensei was with me the entirety of our training trip, I would request for you to let him answer any of your questions and relay my training to you. I would like to go and explore the village."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya for a moment before answering. "Yes, yes please go and roam around the village. I can get the details and everything else I need from Jiraiya."

"Thank You, M'lady," Naruto said before walking towards the window."

"Kakashi Sensei! You can come out now Naruto said peeking through the window. Suddenly a man appeared out of the wall on the side of the building.

"Nice Naruto. You saw through my camouflage. When did you figure it out?" Kakashi asked.

"I knew you were here the entire time. Ever since I stepped into the room," Naruto said. Kakashi was shocked a little that he could sense him so easily. He had let his presence out a little when Naruto was about to leave to see if Naruto could figure it out, but this was amazing.

"It would seem you have improved…NARUTO! Good job sensing my presence. Now come with me I think it's time I gauged your improvement myself." Kakashi smiled through his mask.

"Let's go then," Naruto said smiling a little. "But Kakashi Sensei, I'm not the same old knucklehead ninja that you knew back then. Please, I would recommend you fight with me without holding back." Naruto had a serious look on his face.

"We'll see Naruto. Don't get cocky before our fight even begins." Kakashi stated.

"I'm not being cocky. I am confident in my abilities, and I am not saying I'm better than you. Please do not misunderstand. You may fight how you see fit." 'Naruto never questioned himself while he spoke shortly about his confidence in his abilities' Kakashi thought. Maybe he isn't just the loudmouthed brat he used to be.

* * *

Naruto walked with Kakashi to their original Team 7 training grounds. When they got there Naruto saw from afar that someone else was waiting for them. It was Sakura. Naruto walked to the post beside Sakura and Kakashi walked towards the opposite side.

"Kakashi Sensei," Naruto called out. "I am not going to fight with Sakura if that is what you were expecting." Kakashi was a little surprised and Sakura still couldn't figure out why Naruto was refusing to speak with her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR ISSUE?!" Sakura shouted angrily at Naruto. "Why won't you talk to me, and now why are you refusing to fight Kakashi Sensei with me as your partner?"

"Sakura, those in the ninja world who break the rules are scum…but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Naruto said this very calmly with a normal expression on his face. Sakura stared at him wondering what he meant.

"What I mean is...the day before I left the village with Jiraiya Sensei you said something I will never forget. That day you told me to never talk to you again. You also said that you wished I was the one who had left the village not Sasuke. To finish off, you told me that if I was the one who had left you wouldn't even bother trying to bring me back to the village. Good riddance is what you said." When Naruto finished Kakashi looked in shock. He didn't even know Sakura said something like that to Naruto, the one who went to such great lengths to rescue Sasuke…for HER. Sakura's face had tears rolling down them.

"Naruto…I was angry then. I never meant any of it. I'm sorry."

"Your words are out there Sakura you can't take them back so easily. Just saying sorry doesn't fix your mistakes." Naruto stared at Sakura a little coldly.

"Ok Naruto you and me will fight one on one. Sakura we will have to talk after this, understood? Please just sit at the side for now." Kakashi said.

"Yes Sensei," was all Sakura said back before going to sit off to the side of the training field."

"All righty then Sensei," Naruto said regaining his calm composure, "Now that Sakura's off to the side I can focus on fighting you instead of protecting her. Even though she abandoned me, I won't because that's not what I learned." Naruto smiled a little. Kakashi stared at Naruto for a moment.

"What about me Naruto? I abandoned you too. I always favoured Sasuke, even during the Chuunin Exams I –

"No Kakashi Sensei. I know you were chosen by the council to personally train Sasuke Uchiha. If it were your choice you would've rather trained me…your Sensei's only son, am I right?" Naruto finished and looked up at Kakashi who couldn't believe what he was hearing from Naruto.

"Naruto," Kakashi said seriously. "How do you know?" Kakashi was very curious.

"After this we'll talk, now is not the time. Not in front of Sakura. This is still considered an S-class secret." Naruto waited for Kakashi's reply.

"Alright Naruto," Kakashi started to reach into his pocket and pull something out. "I hope you're ready," Kakashi said. In his right hand were a kunai and his left hand pulled his headband up from over his left eye, which revealed his Sharingan. Naruto stood still for a moment before he smiled a little and without pulling out any tools he slipped into a fighting stance. They stood there for a moment before Sakura said something.

"Are you guys gonna stand there all day?" Sakura asked still avoiding eye contact with Naruto.

"Kakashi Sensei, are you gonna say start or are we really going to just stand here all day." Naruto smirked a little.

"All right Naruto…START!" Kakashi yelled and with that the battle started. But neither Naruto nor Kakashi moved. All of a sudden, Kakashi blazed through some hand seals and yelled out, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu." He blew out an enormous fireball that covered a chunk of the field.

The fireball was cut in half as it passed both of Naruto's sides. Naruto only held up one palm and used raw wind chakra to cut the fireball in half.

"Nice, Naruto!" Kakashi said while smiling through his mask. "So you managed to master an elemental affinity, but don't forget that I can use a few myself," Kakashi said. Suddenly out of the ground from underneath Naruto, Kakashi popped out grabbing Naruto's feet. "Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu" Kakashi pulled Naruto into the ground and started explaining how he did it. "When I sent the fireball towards you I made a Shadow Clone to use the Earth Style Technique just in case you countered the attack, and you did. It's all right Naruto, it'll take some time to get to my leve—

Kakashi was cut off as something; or rather someone grabbed his feet. "Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu" Naruto said with a small grin. Naruto pulled Kakashi into the ground and got himself out. "Kakashi Sensei,I know this is a Lightning Clone." Naruto pulled out a kunai and stabbed Kakashi in the head which burst into lightning.

"Well done Naruto. You continue to amaze me in how much you've grown over the past three years. I'm surprised you learned two out of five of the elemental affinities." Kakashi put on a more serious look. "We've both tested each other a bit. I think it's time we went all out don't you think."

Sakura was watching the fight in amazement. 'Wow. Naruto got so much stronger. I never should have said those things to him.' Sakura continued in her thoughts as the fight continued.

Naruto and Kakashi stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Kakashi said as a clone of himself poofed into existence beside him. "Chidori" Both Kakashi's had a Chidori in their hands. Then Kakashi and Naruto both began weaving Hand Signs. "RAIDEN!" Kakashi yelled. A chain of lightning formed out of both his and his clones Chidori and connected both Chidori's together in a chain of lightning. It had double the power of a regular Chidori and a much wider range.

"Special Seal: Release" Naruto whispered as the seal that was hidden on his shoulder lit up a reddish colour. Kakashi's clones charged Naruto at a speed he wasn't expecting. 'He's as fast as Guy Sensei by the looks of it' Thought Naruto. Kakashi and his clones were an inch before hitting Naruto. Naruto smiled as marks appeared on top of both of Naruto's eyes. His pupils changed into horizontal rectangles. Naruto just put his hand forward again as Kakashi's clones hit him with their Raiden. The chain of lighting just split in two as Kakashi's clones ran past Naruto.

"You were fast Kakashi Sensei, but I was faster. " Naruto looked up to face Kakashi. Kakashi saw Naruto's face and saw the markings above his eyes and was shocked.

"You couldn't have." Kakashi said shakily thinking there was no way Naruto master it. Naruto's smiled a little before replying.

"Yes Kakashi Sensei. I've become a Sage, just like Jiraiya Sensei, except I was able to master Sage Mode. As you can see, I have no toad-like features unlike Jiraiya Sensei's Sage Mode. Also I've created my own unique way of using it. Now let's continue."

Kakashi looked at Naruto in awe as he thought, 'Sensei, he truly became a great ninja just like you.'

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu" About fifty or so clones appeared beside Naruto. They all started creating Rasengan's using only one hand, unlike Naruto's previously required second pair of hands. The Rasengan's grew bigger until the matched the size of a huge boulder. With the jutsu in hand Naruto covered the field, and there was nowhere to escape.

All of the Naruto's jumped into the air and yelled, "Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan" All of the Naruto's smashed down onto Kakashi. There was no escaping his attack. All of the Rasengan's exploded when they hit Kakashi. Sakura watched in shock at the attack.

When the dust cleared Kakashi was lightly battered and was unconscious. Naruto picked up Kakashi and walked over to Sakura. As he walked he lightly whispered, "Seal" and Naruto's eyes went back to normal. Also his markings disappeared and his seal tattoo reappeared on his left shoulder. He put Kakashi down lightly and began to speak. "Sakura start healing any wounds on Sensei right away."

Sakura started healing Kakashi's minor injuries as she asked Naruto, "How come you're attack didn't kill Sensei?"

"Before I and my clones connected with Sensei, I threw a seal tag on Kakashi Sensei which created a force field. Along with that I started pulling back on the jutsu to put as little chakra as possible." Naruto explained.

"But even though you pulled back on the jutsu there was still so much damage."

"I was using Sage Mode, which amplifies all of you jutsu and senses exponentially. So even though I pulled back on my Rasengan and so did my clones the Sage Mode amplified those weak Rasengan's and all together it created the intensity and power that you just saw." Naruto ended his explanation while Sakura thought to herself, 'If he pulled back on his chakra almost all together and caused that much damage, what if he attacked with full power…It would destroy this whole entire training area.' Sakura ended her thoughts while she looked down at Kakashi. Then she quickly looked up and whispered so that only she could hear, "I'm sorry…Naruto." Naruto heard her and saw tears rolling down her face.

'Sakura,' Naruto thought. 'I won't just forgive you. You caused me the worst pain I've experienced in my life.' Naruto looked down slightly, and Sakura wiped away her tears and continued to heal Kakashi until a thought popped into her head.

"Hey Naruto, how did you know I am adept in medical ninjutsu?"

"When I was at Lady Hokage's office I saw a list of medical missions on her desk and she had assigned you as well as some others to those missions. Plus before I left the village, Lady Tsunade told Jiraiya Sensei that you were training under her tutelage to become a full-fledged medical ninja. He looked at Sakura before talking again. "Sakura, Kakashi will regain consciousness in an hour. When he wakes up tell him to meet me at my apartment for our talk." Sakura only nodded to Naruto and then he Body-Flickered away from the field and started walking through the streets.

* * *

Author's Note: Ok guys. Here's chapter 2 for you. There will be slight Sakura bashing throughout the beginning of the story. Sakura caused Naruto a lot of pain and he want's her to know that and feel that as well. Next chapter, there will be a NaruHina moment. Naruto figured something out about Hinata while he was training. Get it "wink, wink." Just wait and watch. New chapters will come out on Friday's or Saturday's. If the chapter doesn't come out this week it should be up next week or sooner if I can do it. Anyways, that's all. ENJOY! REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter 3

* * *

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH**

* * *

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

* * *

Naruto walked through the busy streets of the Leaf Village. He was on his way to Ichiraku Ramen's when he heard a couple of people talking among each other. He was about to keep moving forward but stopped when he heard his name. He listened.

"Did you hear? Naruto's back in the village," said a man with a familiar voice.

"Yes I heard," was all the second man said. The only thing blocking Naruto from seeing who it was, was a fence. He could already guess who it was, and decided to go around the fence and say hi. He turned the corner to see Kiba, Shino and Hinata leaning against a small tree in a graceful way (if leaning against a tree could be graceful).

"Hey guys!" Naruto said with a very pleasant smile on his face. Everyone turned to look at him. When they saw who it was, Hinata's face turned a little red and she smiled. She was wearing a purple and white jacket, with purple pants that went a little below her knees. Kiba just grinned. He was wearing a leather jacket with black pants. Also standing beside him was a much bigger Akamaru. Shino just stood there and looked towards Naruto, no emotion forming beneath his high collared jacket. He was wearing a hooded jacket with a high collar on it. He had brownish pants on.

"Heh, so you are back in the village," Kiba said.

"Yep I just got back around two hours ago. You guys really changed while I was gone, huh? You all look really strong too. Especially you… Hinata." When Naruto finished Kiba was grinning at the compliment and Shino only nodded in acceptance towards the praise. They both looked towards Hinata and saw her face was redder than a tomato.

"Th-thank y-you so mu-much fo-r the k-kind wo-words, N-Naruto." Hinata had summoned all her willpower to give her answer. Naruto looked at her and smiled.

"No problem Hinata, I was only speaking the truth of what I saw." Everyone than looked at Naruto, starting to notice that he had changed as well.

"Speaking of changes," Kiba started. "You've really grown too." Kiba finished and looked at everyone, who was nodding in agreement to his statement.

"Anyways guys, I was wondering if I could borrow Hinata for a while." Everyone looked quite surprised at what Naruto said; especially Hinata.

"Yeah, sure thing, we were just hanging out together. We don't really have a mission either, but we have a team meeting in about an hour." Kiba finished and saw Hinata looking at him.

"Alright that's great. Hinata, would you like to come with me to Ichiraku's. I really need –"Naruto looked up to see Hinata starting to faint.

Hinata kept thinking to herself about what Naruto would want with her? He just came back to the village and now he says he wants to 'borrow me'. Hinata started to faint and fall to the ground from embarrassment, but before she hit the ground Naruto caught her.

"Heh, I guess she still does that, huh? I'll take it from here. Bye guys!" Naruto yelled as he jumped away with Hinata in his arms, bridal style.

* * *

Hinata woke up ten minutes later to see herself in an unfamiliar room. She looked around as she heard footsteps approaching. Naruto walked in to see her awake.

"Oh good, you're awake," Naruto said with a heart-warming smile on his face. Hinata looked at him and immediately started blushing and looked away to get away from the gaze of his eyes.

"Hinata," Naruto started. "I don't think there is an easy way to say this so I'll just say it…I love you." Naruto finished and looked up at Hinata to make sure she didn't faint again, and she didn't. Instead she looked at Naruto with a surprised expression.

"W-what d-d-did you j-just say?" Hinata asked not believing her ears.

"I said I love you—"Naruto was cut off again as Hinata fainted; again.

Hinata woke up to see Naruto sitting in a chair beside her. He looked up and saw her wake up again. Hinata worked up the courage to start talking. "Naruto, did you really mean what you said?" Hinata patiently waited for Naruto to respond; Naruto was now surprised at the lack of stuttering and full of confidence question that Hinata asked. He smiled as he answered.

"I meant it. I know that you've like me since we were in the academy. I figured it out during my three years away, and I really started thinking about you. You loved me when everyone else called me a monster, and dead-last. You believed in me and my ninja-way. You proved it the day you fought Neji." Naruto looked at Hinata and saw a tear in her eye. Before she was able to talk Naruto spoke again. "I hope you still feel that way about me now as well, but before you make that decision I just want to make sure about something." Naruto looked very sadly at Hinata. "Do you know about the Nine-Tailed Fox that is sealed inside me?" Naruto waited for Hinata's answer.

"Yes, I asked Kurenai Sensei and she told me," Hinata stated.

"Do you still have the same feelings for me, even after that fact?" Naruto sadly asked not expecting her to accept him when no one else did.

"Yes. I- I love you even after that fact." Hinata finished seeing Naruto's shocked face change into a smile. "The Nine-Tails is sealed inside you. You are not it. I would never mix the two Naruto."

"Thank you, Hinata."

Hinata started looking around again still not realizing where she was, so she asked. "Naruto, where am I?"

"This is my apartment that Old-Man Third Hokage bought for me when I was a kid." Naruto smiled at Hinata, but she wasn't smiling.

"You lived all alone here since you were little?"

"Yeah, the orphanage kicked me out after I turned six. Don't worry though; this place is much better than the orphanage." Naruto finished seeing Hinata thinking.

'_Naruto had to deal with so much hatred. He never had parents or friends… But now he has me_' She finished her thoughts and gave Naruto a hug. Naruto was surprised at Hinata, but returned the hug. Naruto thought in his head: He never experienced love before. After the day Sakura spat her hateful words at him he realized that he never truly loved her, but with Hinata it felt dfferent. They broke apart from their hug and looked at each other. Naruto spoke,

"Well that's what I wanted to say to you, and it took longer than I thought." Naruto laughed while he spoke. "So you wanna head over to Ichiraku's with me before you head home? It could be our first date." Naruto waited for Hinata's response.

"I would love to Naruto but I think it's nearing the time for my team meeting with Kurenai Sensei; maybe tomorrow." Hinata finished and smiled at Naruto who returned the smile.

"Well, than let me walk you there," Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto!" Hinata was very happy. She thought Naruto would come back and wouldn't notice her at all, but instead she finally got to express her feelings. Naruto had also told her that he felt the same way. She truly felt like nothing could stop her today.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were walking to Kurenai's team meeting location.

"So, Hinata have you been training the past three years?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I've been training with Neji, ever since you left. I wanted to keep up with you so that I would be strong when you came back." Hinata smiled.

"I'm sure you've become really strong. " Naruto smiled back. A thought popped up in his head. "Hey Hinata, Lady Tsunade said she was going to assign me a rank soon, and I was just wondering…what rank are you?" Naruto saw that every one of his classmates and ninja's had become strong over the three years, but he wanted to know if they'd attained Jounin or Chuunin rank yet.

"I am currently a Chuunin, as well as everyone else, except for Neji; he's a Jounin now, but I think I'm going to request Lady Hokage to promote me to Jounin as well. I believe that I'm ready," Hinata said confidence.

"Maybe we can spar one day. I'd really like to see how strong you've become," Naruto said.

Their walk ended when they reached the meeting location, and right on time too, because a ninja was waiting there for Naruto.

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki," The ninja asked.

"Yes," Naruto replied.

"Lady Hokage has requested your presence." The ninja then Body-Flickered away.

Naruto looked at Hinata and said, "I guess I have to go Hinata. I'll come see you tomorrow maybe."

"Ok Naruto, but before you go…I love you" Hinata blushed slightly while saying it.

Naruto grinned; he never felt happier. "I love you too Hinata!", And he Body-Flickered away, as Hinata went inside Kurenai's apartment for her meeting.

* * *

Naruto entered Tsunade's office to see Kakashi and Sakura standing in the room. Naruto walked to Tsunade's desk.

"You asked to see me M'Lady."

"Yes Naruto, after Jiraiya briefed me on your training I decided that a promotion was necessary. You've worked hard these past three years Naruto. So I've decided to promote you to Jounin rank." Tsunade finished and looked up to see a smile come over Naruto's face.

"Thank you, M'Lady." Naruto felt like he was truly acknowledged.

"Yes of course Naruto, you earned it. Here is your Jounin vest," Tsunade handed him the vest. Naruto unzipped his cloak styled jacket to show a black t-shirt. He wore the vest on top of his shirt and zipped it up. Then he wore his jacket over the vest but kept his jacket unzipped. Tsunade and Kakashi both looked at Naruto and thought of Minato; the resemblance was uncanny except for the fact that naruto had orange on his jacket.

"Naruto, Jiraiya told me that he informed you of your heritage." Naruto nodded regaining his calm composure. She continued, "The people in this room are going to be told of your heritage, and when the time is right we will make an official announcement of this." Sakura finally started to look interested in the conversation; because Tsunade told him that she would tell him who Naruto's parents were when Naruto got here; but Naruto interrupted.

"Kakashi Sensei already knows who my parents are." Naruto finished and looked at Tsunade.

"Huh! Kakashi you already know?" Sakura was surprised.

"Alright, calm down! All the same Naruto, we will still tell Sakura." Tsunade said. Sakura calmed down and listened.

"Naruto Uzumaki's parents are: Kushina Uzumaki and The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Sakura was surprised. He thought that Naruto's parents were from a clan that was the Leaf's enemy. Than he thought about it for a bit and realized that he resembled The Fourth quite a bit; and he was also born on the day the Nine-Tails attacked. Also, the Fourth would never ask someone else to give them their child for the sealing, even if they were enemy ninja.

"Naruto, I know your dad would be so proud of you today, seeing you become a Jounin at 16." Kakashi finished and looked at Naruto, smiling through his mask.

"I know he would be. I am also proud of him, for fulfilling his role as Hokage 'til the end." Sakura looked at Kakashi and Naruto.

"I can't believe you're the Fourth's son!" Sakura said.

Naruto looked at Tsunade and spoke, "What was the purpose of telling Sakura of my heritage?"

"Sakura is your team member, and all your team members should know everything about you. Since Sasuke went rogue Sakura, you and Kakashi are the only ones left on the team; and since your team already has two Jounin ninja, and a Chuunin, you won't need another ninja to complete the team." Tsunade finished explaining. Naruto looked satisfied with the answer he received.

"If that's all, do I have permission to leave?" Naruto asked waiting for an answer.

"No, we're not done. I have a mission for you. This mission is of utmost importance, and I'm taking a risk sending you on this mission; understood." When Tsunade finished she knew Naruto knew what she was talking about; The Akatsuki.

"The Akatsuki: You don't need to worry about me being captured; you shouldn't be worried about me being captured if you know my skills."

"I'm not worried, Naruto. But these are dangerous men. Anything can happen." Tsunade had a tense look on her face.

Naruto smiled and spoke, "Don't worry Granny! If it really comes down to it…I have a partner who can help!" Everyone was surprised at his comment, and that he said "granny" instead of "lady". Sakura and Tsunade didn't fully understand what he meant but Sakura shrugged it off, and Tsunade thought she would ask Jiraiya later. But Kakashi was the only one who was wide-eyed in shock and surprise; he was definitely going to ask Naruto about this when they had their talk.

"Ok Naruto. Gaara of The Sand has been captured by two Akatsuki members. The Hidden Sand Village had trackers find their location. All that's left is to mount an attack." Tsunade finished and looked up at Kakashi. "Ok Kakashi you and your team may leave. Explain the mission details to them."

"Understood Lady Hokage. Ok guys, let's go!

* * *

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura reached their original Team 7 training area where Kakashi stopped them to explain the mission and go over team exercises.

"Ok guys, let's stop here so that I can explain the mission to you, and then we can do some team training." Both Naruto and Sakura stopped and listened. "Alright, so far what we know about the two-man team that abducted Gaara is this: Their names are Deidara and Sasori. Deidara is from the Hidden Stone Village. We've had previous run-ins with the Stone Village. Much of the Akatsuki members were Hidden Stone ninja's. The Second man, Sasori, is from the Hidden Sand Village itself. The Sand believes that is one of the reasons that Sasori was sent to abduct Gaara. Sasori is a master puppeteer; he is the best. We don't know much of their abilities; we only know that Deidara uses some sort of explosive clay Ninjutsu. As for the mission plan, well there really isn't one. I'm going to fight Deidara, and you two will fight Sasori together. Understood?" When Kakashi finished he saw a look on Naruto's face.

"Kakashi Sensei, let me fight on my own. I refuse to fight alongside Sakura."

"Naruto, didn't you say that you never abandon your comrades, so how do you explain what you're doing right now?" Kakashi said hoping to make Naruto accept and forgive Sakura. In the midst of this Sakura kept quiet.

"That is specifically why I don't want to fight with Sakura. I always protect my comrades, but I don't trust myself to rush in to protect Sakura if I have to."

"I'm sorry Naruto, you will have to put aside your differences for this mission's success." Kakashi wasn't surprised by Naruto's answer.

"If fighting with a partner really matters, I already have one." Naruto smiled while he said it. Kakashi looked at him suspiciously and Sakura was just sad and confused.

"Look Naruto, I don't want any arguments. You and Sakura will be a team during this mission." Kakashi knew Naruto understood.

"Of course Kakashi Sensei; no more arguments." Sakura was surprised at Naruto's response.

"Ok then, we are all done here. Pack four days' worth of ninja supplies. We'll stop in nearby towns for food and rest. We will meet tomorrow at dawn at the village gates. You may go now." Sakura started walking back to Tsunade's office, while Kakashi followed beside Naruto. "I think it's time we talked." Kakashi said.

"Sure." Was all Naruto said.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi reached his apartment. Naruto led him inside and sat down on a chair and gestured for him to sit in one in front of him.

"So what do want to ask me?" Naruto asked.

"First let's start with your knowledge of your parents. Also why didn't you freak out about Gaara? I thought you two were friends now and you would be worried for him." Kakashi asked.

"Well that's simple enough. Jiraiya Sensei told me about them. It did take me a while to accept and understand your reasons for favouring Sasuke, but I managed; I am the Fourth Hokage's son after all." Naruto grinned. "As for the second question, I told you Kakashi Sensei, I'm not that stupid kid. Shouting and worrying is never going to help. If I want to save Gaara I'm going to need to be calm and think things through."

Kakashi was more than a little impressed. "Ok, what about what you said in Lady Tsunade's office; about your partner?"

"I'm sure you think you've figured it out but it's complicated. You'll have to wait and find out." Naruto snickered.

"Ok Naruto, but be careful in whatever you're doing." Kakashi thought about what else he wanted to ask. "Naruto, I think you've pretty much answered all my questions except for one. Since Master Jiraiya told you about your parents, did he teach you your father's famous jutsu?" This was Kakashi's last question; he needed to know for some reason if someone had revived his Sensei's prized jutsu.

"Oh, you mean the Flying Raijin Jutsu…no." Naruto's answer was plain and simple. "Jiraiya Sensei doesn't know the jutsu."

"I see, Naruto do you want to learn it?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"If you knew the jutsu why haven't you used it yet?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know it, but I know someone who does-three people to be exact." Now Naruto was curious. "They were the Fourth Hokage's personal guards and were taught how to use it; but because of their poor chakra reserves it takes all three of them to perform the jutsu. They wouldn't teach it to me because they swore secrecy, but they might tell you since you are the Fourth's son." Kakashi finished and saw a little excitement in Naruto; like the little kid he used to be.

"Who are these three?" Naruto asked.

"Raido Namiashi, Genma Shiranui and Iwashi Tatami." Kakashi said. "Anyways Naruto talk to them if you like, but I have to go now."

"Alright Kakashi Sensei, see you tomorrow for our mission." And with that Kakashi jumped out from Naruto's window and was off.

Naruto went into his room and packed up his ninja supplies and tools in his backpack. Then he ate a quick dinner, showered and headed for bed. He had to be up early tomorrow for his mission.

* * *

Naruto found himself standing inside a giant room-it was flooding with darkness. The only thing light in the room was Naruto. The room was empty. There was no water-It was as if no one was even in the room. Naruto walked forward and a huge set of caged bars appeared in front of him. Someone opened their eyes and waved away the darkness with it's tails-The Nine Tailed Fox. Naruto spoke:

"Hey there Nine-o! What's going on?" Naruto asked in a very cheery tone.

"**What do you want…Naruto. Could it be that you want to let me take over your body finally?!**" The Nine Tails voice echoed through the darkness and around the room.

"Nope, I'm not giving you my body." Naruto sat down and crossed his legs. "I'm just here to talk." Naruto kept his smile-it shone kindness.

"**Tch, not this again. I don't want to talk to you kid. Don't think you can befriend me by saying some kind words. I AM THE NINE TAILED FOX! DO NOT TAKE ME LIGHTLY!**" Its voice roared throughout the room. "**I heard what you said today at the Hokage Tower and I still feel the same. I hate all you humans, and you are only a piece of the hatred I hold.**"

Naruto got up from his sitting position and looked at the beast seriously. "Well then Nine Tails…We'll just have to rid you of your hatred one day!" Naruto's smile reappeared. Nine Tails was wide-eyed in shock. He watched everything Naruto did from the day he was born. He knew Naruto wasn't lying.

Nine Tails thought hard before talking. '_**Naruto, you don't understand. You can't rid me of my hate; I've carried it for so many years; it's never-ending. I've lost all faith in humanity.**_'

"**Naruto, you cannot rid me of my hate; I could crush you with only a percent of it.**" Nine Tails said with a serious look. Naruto looked at the Nine Tails and continued smiling.

"Nine Tails," Naruto started while walking towards the exit of the room, "I will save you from your hatred. You were the only one who truly saw me for who I was. Even if you hate me you always understood me. All I want to say Nine Tails is that…" Naruto was at the end of the room before saying one last thing, "It's not a curse to have a Tailed Beast inside you. I hope things will be different for us in the near future." With that Naruto left and Nine Tails resumed his thoughts. '_**Naruto, you've tried really hard to gain my trust and friendship but I'm not like the other Tailed Beasts. I won't wag my tails for you or any other.**_' The Nine Tails just closed his eyes and lay back down to sleep.

* * *

Naruto woke up early in the morning, took a shower and got ready. He grabbed his bag, locked his apartment and left. He got to the village gates and waited for Kakashi and Sakura. Sakura arrived a minute later, surprised at seeing Naruto being the first one here. Kakashi came two minutes after.

"Wow Sensei, you're not late today. Well done." Sakura said in a sort of sarcastic tone.

"Haha, very funny Sakura but this mission is too serious to fool around with." Kakashi said seriously. Naruto didn't say anything and just leaned against the side of a pillar. "Ok then, let's head out guys." Kakashi led them out of the village. "Plans have changed, and we're going to be stopping in the Sand Village. Two of their top Jounin will be accompanying us just to insure victory."

"Who are the two Jounin." Naruto asked.

"Temari, and Kankuro. They're Gaara's siblings as I'm sure you remember right Naruto?"

"Of course Sensei; Jiraiya Sensei and I visited the Sand during my training. I saw both of them there, and Temari even helped me with my Wind Style training. I was also at Gaara's Kazekage inauguration."

Sakura watched the two go back and forth. "Gaara and I sparred again as well; and I beat him…again." Naruto laughed a little as he said it, but Sakura's head dropped down as she remembered how she called him a liar for saying he saved her from Gaara.

"It seems you remembered haven't you Sakura?" Naruto said with a serious look directed at her. He was of course talking about exactly what Sakura was just thinking about- "How _I_ saved you from Gaara, and you wouldn't _believe_ me."

"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—

"Shut up Sakura. I told you yesterday that begging for forgiveness isn't going to help me forgive you. Prove that you mean the words you say." Everyone went quiet. The silence was broken by a cry from Sakura-tears rolled down her face. Everyone kept walking forward without another word, and Sakura stayed in the back letting her tears out.

'_I'm not going to be such a baby about it. I will protect you with my life as it is my duty as your teammate; but what you said to me will never leave. I just hope you don't make me hate you anymore than I already do._' Naruto finished his thoughts and continued walking.

"Kakashi Sensei" Sakura started gesturing at Kakashi to fall back a little so that she could talk a little privately without Naruto hearing.

"What is it Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Can you maybe talk to Naruto about his hate for me? Do you think you can—"Sakura was cut off by Kakashi mid-sentence.

"No Sakura. You need to work for your apology. When Naruto told me what you said to him made me sad Sakura. I never taught you to treat your teammates like that. Naruto tried his best to bring Sasuke back and instead of thanking him for his efforts, you shunned him like he was an outsider. Naruto never had many friends and he thought he could trust you, but you abandoned him. How do you think he feels? You must earn back his trust and friendship; and it will be hard." Kakashi finished and picked up his pace and moved up beside Naruto. Sakura kept her pace and stayed behind. She would earn his trust back; definitely.

"Hey Kakashi Sensei, I need to ask a favour." Naruto said. Kakashi looked over at him.

"What can I do for you Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"When we come back from the mission I need you to take me to the three ninja's you told me about yesterday. Please?" Kakashi smiled.

"Of course Naruto, but in return I need you to do something for me." Kakashi said.

"Ok sure, what is it?"

"I need you to get me the unreleased latest volume of Makeout Paradise from Master Jiraiya."

A drop of sweat formed at the back of Naruto's head as he realized how both of his Sensei's were the biggest pervert's in the world. "Sure thing Kakashi Sensei, I'll be sure to get it to you right after you introduce me to Raido, Genma and Iwashi." Naruto said.

"Then it's a deal" Kakashi said. Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura walked off as the sun stood high in the sky; they had three more days until they reached the Sand Village. '_Here we go then_' Naruto thought thinking of the journey ahead of him.

* * *

Author's Note: That's chapter three. For those who really hate Sakura and don't want Naruto to forgive her, don't worry. I'm with you. Naruto will start hating Sakura even more after a certain incident. As for Nine Tails, Naruto has been talking to him every day since the past three years. So they have a stronger relationship than in the canon. It will take a little time before the Nine Tails starts trusting Naruto and befriends him. I will start branching out my own story now and straying from canon little by little. There will be character deaths as well. And I just wanted Naruto and Hinata to express their feelings for each other. I think I've covered everything I wanted to say. Alright, ENJOY! REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter Four

* * *

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH**

* * *

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

* * *

Team Kakashi continued their journey to the Sand Village. There were two more days ahead of them. During the first day they were attacked by low ranking missing-ninja's. There wasn't much trouble after that. It was nearing sunset.

"Ok guys, we'll make camp over here" Kakashi said as he pointed to a spot in the middle of a forest. "After this we won't be stopping to make camp, because after this, the land will become too unpredictable and we should always keep on the move to stay ahead of it."

"What's ahead of this place Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"A desert" Naruto replied before Kakashi could. Sakura looked to Naruto who was standing beside Kakashi.

"Oh, ok, thanks" Was all Sakura said back. Kakashi and Sakura set camp while Naruto scouted out a small perimeter of the area. He returned and set some wood beside the tents.

"Ok, I've managed to gather some good wood for a fire. I'll get it started." Naruto said as he put two fingers in front of his mouth. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" Naruto said as he lit the wood and started a small fire. Everybody sat down in front of the fire warming themselves up. The sun had set and it started getting colder.

"I think I'm going to head over to my tent and sleep" Sakura said. Kakashi slightly nodded and Naruto did not say anything. Sakura went into her tent and fell asleep.

"So Naruto, don't you think it's time to forgive Sakura? Leave whatever happened in the past. Move forward and be the better person"— Kakashi started as he was cut off.

"No Kakashi Sensei. She needs to feel how I felt ever since that day. I'm sure one day it will be all forgotten about, but that day is not today" Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto, in the end it's your decision" Kakashi said.

Kakashi didn't speak after that and neither did Naruto. Both of them started heading to their shared tent.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Naruto said as a clone popped into existence beside him. "My shadow clone will keep watch for the night, but we should still leave early. We don't have time to waste" Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto, and smart creating a clone" Kakashi said remembering the unique features of the Shadow Clone. Kakashi took off his Jounin vest and Naruto took off his jacket and Jounin vest as well. Kakashi fell asleep quite quickly while Naruto sat on his small bed bag slightly leaning against the tent. He sat as still as a tree with his eyes closed as he focused. He gathered Sage Energy. Markings appeared on his eyes and disappeared. The mark on his shoulder stretched out up to his face and grabbed all the Sage Chakra and retracted back to his shoulder as the Sage Chakra sealed itself in it. Naruto lied down after that and fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto was woken up as he heard the sound of packing up tents. He looked up to see Kakashi with his vest back on ready to leave.

"Hey Sensei, are we heading out?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Sakura is packing up her tent, and we should do the same" Kakashi said. Naruto got up and put his vest and jacket on. Then both he and Kakashi packed up their tent and Kakashi sealed it in a scroll. The three then started heading towards their destination. Sakura was now leading from the front as Naruto and Kakashi hanged back a little, forming a little triangle formation. Kakashi was reading his book as usual. They continued on as they reached the deserts. They walked quietly for the rest of the trip, all on guard after Naruto told them about the desert bandits he encountered on his trip to the Sand Village.

* * *

They reached the Sand Village a day later without encountering a single bandit. They stopped at the gate where they were greated by guards.

"State your business" One of the guards said.

"We are here from the Hidden Leaf" Kakashi said.

"Are you here for Temari and Kankuro?" The other guard asked.

"Yes" Naruto said. The guard waved to a man standing on top of the gate and he waved to someone on the other side. The gates opened and the guard gestured them in. Team Kakashi were escorted by a Chuunin level ninja to the Kazekage Tower. They went inside and saw Temari standing there.

"Hey, Temari!" Naruto yelled lightly. Temari looked up and saw Naruto and a smile formed on her face. She ran up and hugged Naruto and he hugged her back. Kakashi and Sakura just looked at the two. Naruto broke the hug and started talking. "Where's Kankuro?" He asked. Temari looked down a little.

"He was poisoned by Sasori, one of the Akatsuki members that took Gaara" Temari said. "But the doctors said it was only a light poison and not Sasori's trademark death poison. So he should be fine but he won't be participating in this mission. His fill in will be Lady Chiyo. One of the strongest kunoichi from our village" Temari said. An old lady walked into the room and she started rushing Kakashi to everyone's surprise.

"WHITE FANG OF THE LEAF!" Chiyo yelled as she neared Kakashi but Naruto walked in front of her and stopped her from landing a hit.

"This is not the White Fang, Lady Chiyo" Naruto said. Lady Chiyo looked carefully at Kakashi and calmed down as she saw the similarities between Kakashi and the White Fang but knew it wasn't him. Kakashi blew out a sigh of relief that Naruto had jumped in and explained.

"Lady Chiyo, the White Fang was my father" Kakashi said. Chiyo looked him over and said one thing: "The White Fang killed my family." Kakashi looked at Chiyo very nervously, but saw that she didn't hold it against him. Everyone in the room loosened up and Temari explained how the rest of the mission would be going.

"Ok, we have located the Akatsuki hideout that Gaara was taken to." Temari started, "We will be going in with full force. There are five of us, so I will pair us up now. Kakashi, Sakura, and Lady Chiyo, you three will take on Sasori. Naruto and I will take on the second member Deidara. I've trained with him and we work well as a team. We don't know much about Deidara's abilities but Lady Chiyo knows everything about Sasori. She will explain everything to you." Temari finished and made sure everyone understood. Everybody headed out of the village and continued with the mission.

* * *

The team was heading into a forest. Kakashi was in the front, Sakura and Lady Chiyo in the middle, and Naruto and Temari farthest at the back.

"Hey, Temari, don't worry. We're going to save Gaara" Naruto whispered to Temari as they entered the forest.

"I hope so, Naruto. This is the Akatsuki, not just any ninja. If they took Gaara by force than how do we even begin to stand a chance" Temari said.

"No, Temari. We will bring him back. Together we're stronger than them." They both continued forward without another word.

The team was stopped by Kakashi, who was leading the team from the front.

"What's wrong, Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I can sense a chakra trying to mask itself. I know this chakra too. It's… Itachi Uchiha?!" Kakashi said in shock. Shuriken flew from both directions at Kakashi and the rest of the team. They all dodged swiftly and landed below into a small open clearing.

"Well, well Kakashi. You were able to sense me while I was masking my chakra" Itachi said as he walked into the small clearing that Team Kakashi and the rest were standing in.

"Itachi Uchiha. So you've come to defeat us, is that it?" Kakashi asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, but enough talk" Itachi said as he dropped his Akatsuki cloak. He created Shadow Clones to match his opponent's numbers and rushed them each head on.

"Shit! He's fast" Kakashi said as Itachi's clone almost landed a kunai in his stomach. He dodged and quickly went through some hand-signs: "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu" Kakashi said as he blew an enormous fireball at Itachi. Itachi appeared behind Kakashi and stabbed him in his neck. Kakashi turned into lightning and shocked Itachi, stunning him momentarily. Kakashi appeared from out of the ground and stabbed Itachi straight through his heart with his Lightning Blade. Itachi exploded in a puff of smoke and Kakashi looked around to see where the real Itachi was. He saw Sakura struggling, and Lady Chiyo who had already finished her Shadow Clone off. She headed over to Sakura to help her. Then he looked around for Temari and he spotted her fighting equally with her clone. He finally set his eyes on Naruto who was fighting the real Itachi. Kakashi was surprised at what he was seeing. Naruto was the only one out of the group who was able to push Itachi back with ease. He decided to join Naruto when someone tapped his shoulder. Kakashi turned around to see Naruto's clone standing behind him.

"Kakashi Sensei, Do not interfere in my battle. You will only hold me back. You don't know enough of my skills and there isn't enough time to explain them to you now. Naruto will defeat Itachi don't worry" Naruto's clone explained. The clone poofed out of existence and Kakashi decided to listen to the clone's words and observe Naruto's battle.

Naruto was forcing Itachi to change quickly between Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu, using both long and close range battle techniques making him unable to find an opening to use his Sharingan.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu" Naruto said as a fireball headed towards Itachi. Itachi was pinned and had no time to react; he had no choice but to use it. Itachi's right eye changed into a black shuriken.

"AMATERASU" Itachi yelled as black flames appeared and burnt the fireball Naruto created. Then it continued on and raced towards Naruto; but Naruto was prepared for Itachi. He pulled a fiery red coloured scroll out of his pocket and opened it.

"Fire Sealing Scroll: Eternal Fire Seal" Naruto yelled out. The scroll started glowing. The black flames hit the scroll Naruto held open and started getting sealed into it. All of the flames were sealed and Naruto closed the scroll and put it back in his pocket.

'Shit!' Itachi thought. 'I can only use that technique once' Itachi's right eye changed back to his normal three-tomoed Sharingan.

"What's wrong Itachi?" Naruto mocked. "Are you all done?" Naruto smiled as he remembered his training with Jiraiya:

FLASHBACK: "Naruto, if you ever face an Uchiha in battle you must be able to push them back and force them to become unable to use their greatest power in the fight; their Sharingan" Jiraiya lectured to Naruto. Naruto looked at Jiraiya and had a confused look on his face.

"But Jiraiya Sensei, when will I have to face an Uchiha. There are only two left and I don't think I'll ever have to face them" Naruto said.

"No Naruto. You will probably have to end up facing both of them one day. Itachi Uchiha is an Akatsuki member, so you will have to fight him if he is sent after you" Jiraiya said. "And the other; Sasuke Uchiha; your former teammate. You will most definitely have to fight him. I know you've forgotten about him, but Sakura has not. She will request for Tsunade to allow Sasuke to be rescued even after his betrayal to the village. Knowing Tsunade's kind heart, she will allow it. So I will teach you how to fight them so that you can be ready when the time comes."

"Ok Jiraiya Sensei!" Naruto said with a smile on his face.

FLASHBACK END.

'Your teachings came in really handy Sensei. I'll have to remind myself to thank you when I get back.' Naruto thought.

Itachi looked at Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki. You've greatly improved over the past three years. It looks like your other teammate over there didn't improve at all though" Itachi said. Then he looked at Naruto menacingly. "Where is Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"Haven't you heard? Your little brother left the village with Orochimaru in order to gain power to kill you" Naruto said.

"I see" was all Itachi said. He rushed at Naruto and threw at kick which Naruto blocked easily, but that's what he was aiming for. He twisted upwards and threw his other leg down smashing into Naruto's shoulder. Naruto didn't even budge an inch and Itachi's leg just rested on his shoulder.

"Is that it?" Naruto asked; Itachi's eyes widened in shock. Naruto formed a Rasengan in each hand and simultaneously attacked Itachi. He smashed one Rasengan into Itachi's leg crippling it, and he shoved the second one right in his gut. Naruto's attack blew Itachi away and he landed in a tree, creating a giant crater. Naruto saw the aftermath of his attack and looked around to see how the others were doing. Everyone was standing beside Kakashi in shock at Naruto's power; even Kakashi and Sakura who had seen it during Naruto and Kakashi's fight. Naruto ignored the surprised looks and walked towards the crater to make sure he defeated his opponent. Naruto reached the crater and his eyes widened a little at what he saw. Lying in the crater was not Itachi but a random dead ninja. Everyone else walked up beside Naruto to see what Naruto was looking at and had a shocked reaction.

"Kakashi Sensei! What is this?!" Sakura asked. Kakashi didn't need to answer as Naruto started explaining.

"They used some kind of transformation jutsu unknown to us that not only transforms that persons looks but also mimics their chakra. Also, it seems a little similar to the Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation the Second Hokage created except instead of reviving someone from the dead it creates an exact copy of the living person; in this case, Itachi Uchiha." Naruto finished his explanation and waited to make sure everyone understood.

"But what about that eye technique that he used?" Sakura asked.

"Look carefully at his right eye" Naruto said. Everyone looked down at the body and saw a black hole with a sealing formula surrounding it. "Itachi probably sealed his black flames in there as a precaution just in case things got too crazy during our fight. Anyways we should still take the body with us so that we can analyze it. I also got the black flames that were used so we can hopefully come up with some counter to it." Kakashi looked at Naruto as he finished his explanation.

"Ok Naruto, you seem to have thought of everything, let's grab the body and we can move forward to the Akatsuki hideout" Kakashi said. Naruto didn't answer. He just walked up to the body and pulled another scroll out of his pocket. He opened it up and tapped the middle; after a puff of smoke another scroll appeared on top of the other scroll, but this one was larger. Naruto performed a hand-sign and sealed the body into the scroll. Then he sealed the giant scroll into the smaller one and put it back in his pocket. Everyone watched as he did so very carefully. "Ok, now we can go" Naruto said. No one said anything and they just moved forward.

* * *

The team reached the end of the forest and saw a bridge and a giant opening being blocked by a boulder below them. They all jumped down onto the bridge.

"Looks like there's no one out here" said Kakashi.

"Gaara has to be inside there behind that" Temari said while pointing to the giant boulder.

"Now's where we execute our plan; let's split into our teams" Kakashi said while walking to the left where Sakura and Lady Chiyo were standing. Temari moved beside Naruto. They headed over to the boulder. "Ok, it looks like we can't sense what's inside from out here. I'm betting it's the same situation inside. Naruto, I want you to smash this boulder with a Rasengan. After the boulder is destroyed we'll rush them from here so attack with everything you got. We have one chance to get them in one shot!" Kakashi said. Everybody stood back to give Naruto room. Naruto put one hand in front of his self and started forming a Rasengan in it. He raised his hand above his head as it got bigger and bigger until it matched the size of half the boulder.

"Naruto how are you going to destroy the boulder with a Rasengan that isn't even as big as it?" Sakura asked stupidly.

"Shut up Sakura, and watch." Naruto said firmly to Sakura. Sakura shut up and watched. Naruto released his Sage Mode Seal, and markings appeared over his eyes. "RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled as he rammed the giant Rasengan into the boulder. The boulder cracked and exploded into the Akatsuki's hideout. Everyone rushed in and looked for an enemy. Lady Chiyo saw a man hunched over with a cloth on his face standing on the rubble. She charged him; Kakashi and Sakura followed her lead.

Temari and Naruto looked for Deidara. Temari had to keep up with Naruto because of the speed he was charging at. Naruto had turned Sage Mode off as he rushed into the hideout. He thought he should save it as a trump card in case he needed it. They both saw Gaara lying on the floor and a blonde man standing at the side kicking a small rock away. They both rushed him head on.

* * *

Chiyo had to stay on a defensive because of Sasori's tail trying to poison her. One hit and it was over. Kakashi came from behind him with a Chidori his hand. Sasori jumped to his side where he was caught off guard by a Shadow Clone Kakashi created before attacking Sasori. He got his footing and jumped back before the clone could pierce him with his Chidori. He looked back getting ready to land but he didn't see Sakura standing there when he jumped back. She jumped toward him ready to punch him with a chakra enhanced punch. He whipped his tail at her knocking her to the ground.

"Guh!" Sakura shouted as she hit the ground. Kakashi landed next to her to make sure she was okay.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, Sensei" Sakura replied.

"Don't just sit there you brats, get up and continue!" Lady Chiyo yelled at Kakashi and Sakura. They both got up and continued to fight.

* * *

He pulled out a kunai as he neared Deidara. Deidara put his hands in his pouches strapped to his hips. He had mouths on his hands that grabbed clay from his pouch and chewed it. He pulled his hands together and formed something. When he pulled his hands away from each other there were two clay kunai in his hands. Naruto smashed his kunai into Deidara's and sparks flew from them. 'Damn, I thought they wouldn't be too sturdy but this kunai he created is rock hard' Naruto thought. Deidara swung his other arm around and tried to stab Naruto in his stomach but was stopped by Naruto's other hand. "Heh, you think it'll be that easy?" Naruto asked sarcastically. Temari appeared from above Naruto with her fan in her hands.

"Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu" Temari yelled as she swung her fan down. Naruto broke away from Deidara and his clash and backed away from the attack about to hit Deidara. Deidara looked up and saw Temari swinging her fan at him. He was hit dead on by the attack. The wind slashed through Deidara multiple times. After the attack finished Deidara's "pieces" fell to the ground. Naruto looked closer at them and saw that it was clay. Temari landed next to the clay and she smiled at Naruto. The clay started glowing as if it were about to explode.

"TEMARI, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THERE!" Naruto yelled as the clay exploded.

Kakashi and Sakura noticed the explosion and worried a little but continued fighting.

Deidara appeared from underneath the ground behind Naruto. Naruto turned and looked seriously at him.

"What's wrong, kid? Did I kill your girlfriend there? I'm sooo sorry" Deidara said sarcastically. Naruto kept staring at him. "Hey, kid! Stop fucking staring at me like that or I'll cut your eyes right out of your head" Deidara yelled at Naruto. The smoke cleared from the explosion from behind Naruto. Temari was slightly injured and was unconscious. "What the fuck! How is that girl not dead?" Deidara asked.

"Look closer" Naruto said still keeping his stare locked onto Deidara. Deidara looked at Temari who had a force field surrounding her. "You should be proud. You managed to crack my force field" Naruto said as he pointed behind him. The force field cracked and broke into pieces. Deidara looked angrily at Naruto and then calmed down.

"It looks like you were able to save that girl but can you protect yourself against my…ART" Deidara said as he dipped his hands into his bag. He created two small birds that he threw on the ground. He formed a hand seal and the birds became bigger. He jumped onto one bird and flew out. The other bird swallowed Gaara and followed Deidara. 'Oh boy, he wants me to follow him. And he hasn't really left me any choice either taking Gaara with him. I'll have to think this through while I chase after him' Thought Naruto as he ran outside the Hideout.

* * *

Kakashi saw the explosion and saw Temari unconscious on the ground. He saw Naruto chasing after Deidara, and hoped he had a plan. He continued to fight Sasori.

"White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets" Chiyo said as smoke surrounded the area. Once the smoke cleared ten puppets appeared in white cloaks around Chiyo. "I didn't want to have to use this technique" She said. Kakashi and Sakura jumped next to Chiyo.

"Lady Chiyo, what technique is this?" Kakashi asked.

"I can control each one of these puppets with one finger each. Although it takes a lot of skill I can use them. They all have their own special builds. Some are good to land big offensive hits and some are good for defense. But right now I'm going to have them all attack together" Chiyo said.

"Let me boost your attack power" Kakashi said.

"How will you do that, son of the White Fang?" Chiyo asked.

"You can call me Kakashi, and I'm going to add lightning chakra to all of your puppets which should increase their offense and defense should you need it" Kakashi said. Chiyo nodded telling him to do it. Kakashi made his Chidori hand signs and formed a Chidori in his hand but instead of shaping it into a sharp blade, Kakashi started spreading lightning outwards covering the puppets. When he finished he gasped for air slightly.

"Man that took a lot of chakra" He said. Sakura watched as Chiyo and Kakashi did their jutsu's.

'I can't do anything. It's been three years and I thought I improved but compared to Naruto and Kakashi Sensei I'm still the same. Sasuke is probably even stronger than both of them now too' Sakura thought.

"Hey Sakura, don't worry you've helped plenty" Kakashi said. "And in case we get injured we'll need your healing abilities."

"Speak for yourself, I'm more than capable of healing myself" Chiyo said. "Anyways enough talk. It looks like…my grandson has gotten serious as well."

Kakashi and Sakura were shocked at Chiyo's words but looked towards Sasori who looked completely different. The hunched back man they were fighting before was just a shell. The real Sasori was standing on top of the opened shell of the puppet. He had red hair but his whole entire body was made of puppet pieces, except for where his heart was. The only thing alive about him was his heart.

"My goodness Sasori" Chiyo started. "I can't believe what you've done to yourself. You've truly become a monster."

"Not at all" Sasori said. "I've only escaped what makes humans weak…emotion. Summoning Jutsu" Smoke covered the entire cave like hideout. The smoke cleared to reveal one hundred puppets surrounding Sasori. "Let's see if your ten can battle my hundred." Sasori said mockingly.

Chiyo got upset after seeing two of the puppets Sasori summoned. It was his mother and father. "You've sunken too low Sasori. I have to end this now" Chiyo said. Chiyo's puppets and Sasori's rushed at each other and attacked.

* * *

Naruto was chasing Deidara through a forest with a plan in mind. He made two Shadow Clones.

'That's right you stupid kid. Keep following me—Deidara's thoughts were cut off as two Naruto's appeared from behind a tree in front of him with a Rasengan in hand. Naruto's clones grabbed Deidara and shoved their Rasengan's into his gut. Deidara fell to the ground. The clones jumped to the bird that swallowed Gaara and broke it open and took Gaara out. The real Naruto jumped down to examine Deidara's body which lit up. 'Shit' Naruto thought as he jumped away with his clones and Gaara.

'Crap that was close. That kid really pushed me. I would've been dead if I hadn't substituted at the last second. I'll get him next time" Deidara thought as he walked away.

Naruto looked back into the area where the explosion occurred and saw it empty. He knew Deidara got away but opted not to chase any further. He started heading back to the hideout to get Temari and the rest of the team.

* * *

Chiyo's puppets destroyed Sasori's clones with ease; especially with Kakashi's lightning added to them. One by one they shattered into a million pieces, ensuring that Sasori wouldn't be able to use them again. Chiyo had 7 puppets left and Sasori had two; his mother and his father.

"This is it Sasori" Chiyo said. "Please do not make me continue. I will end this if I have to."

"Grandmother please stop being so emotional" Sasori said. With a flick of two fingers his mother and fathers puppets rushed Chiyo. Chiyo readied herself and had her puppets attack the two puppets all together. Chiyo's puppets were about to hit Sasori's when Sasori formed a hand seal. His puppets exploded. Chiyo's puppets were completely destroyed Sasori's would have to be put back together.

"I guess you're all done then Grandmother?" Sasori asked. He got into a fighting stance. His body started transforming into weapons. His arms became knives and his stomach had a long rope with a blade at the end coming out of it. Chiyo was too exhausted to attack, and so was Kakashi after controlling the stream of lightning on the puppets. Sasori was about to stab Chiyo when he was puched in to face and sent flying back. He got up to see Sakura standing in front of Kakashi and Chiyo.

"You'll have to get through me first" Sakura said. Sasori didn't reply. The rope coming out of his stomach came out of the ground where Sakura was standing and stabbed her right in her stomach. She fell back. Sasori pulled the rope back into his stomach.

"I'll have to get through you first, huh? Well that was easy" Sasori mocked. He started walking towards Chiyo who was unable to move due to exhaustion. Sasori stood in front of Chiyo. "I'll end this now Grandmoth— Sasori was cut off as he was stabbed from both sides. He turned and saw his last two puppets put back together-barely-running him through with swords on each side. Both swords pierced his heart; his one human piece. Sasori fell to the ground and Chiyo got up slowly.

"No Sasori, I ended it" Chiyo said. She released the chakra strings holding the two puppets stabbing Sasori and they all fell to the ground. She walked over to Sakura and healed her wound easily. Sakura sat up and thanked Chiyo, who went to heal Kakashi next, and then herself.

'Damnit I was still useless. I'm always in the way. I have to train harder when we get back to the Leaf' Sakura thought to herself.

* * *

Naruto landed outside the hideout and walked inside with Gaara on his shoulder. He saw everyone standing together inside. Sakura healed Temari's minor injuries and she was awake now. Everyone looked at Naruto whose eyes had tears coming out of them. Naruto set Gaara down in front of everyone and wiped his tears.

"I'm sorry…Temari. Gaara's dead" Naruto said. Temari looked at him and she started crying. Chiyo looked at Naruto.

"Naruto right?" Chiyo asked. "You know, you really are a great ninja. You remind me of our Third Kazekage. He was a great man. I've been watching you this entire mission, and I see that you truly value Gaara as a friend. I look at you and I see hope for the future of the Sand and the Leaf. I see hope for the ninja world. Maybe one day there will be peace. I'm gonna die soon anyways so I'll give you something." Chiyo finished and put her hands on Gaara. A blue light surrounded her hands.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"This is a technique only I can perform. I'm giving Gaara my life" Chiyo said. "Damnit! I don't have enough chakra left." Naruto walked over to Chiyo and put his hands on hers.

"Take all the chakra you need Lady Chio, I have plenty." Chiyo looked at Naruto and saw a determination in his eyes. She took the chakra and revived Gaara.

"He is alive now" Chiyo said barely breathing. "He will wake up soon. My last wish is that the Leaf and Sand unite together." Chiyo fell down and her eyes closed. Naruto picked her up.

"Kakashi Sensei, pickup Gaara. We've completed the mission, and we have plenty of intel on the Akatsuki members we fought" Naruto said; before leaving Naruto sealed Sasori and his mother and father's puppets into a scroll. The team then headed back towards the Sand Village.

* * *

Everyone arrived at the gates where they were greeted by guards again. The guard saw Lady Chiyo and immediately ordered the guards to open the gate. The team headed to Kazekage Tower and were greeted by an elder. Naruto placed Chiyo's body down and Kakashi put Gaara down as well.

"Is she dead?" The elderly man asked.

"Yes" Naruto replied back. The Man broke into small tears as he hugged the body.

"Thank you for returning her home Leaf ninja" The man said.

"We'd never abandon a comrade. She is a hero" Naruto said to the man. The man picked up Chiyo's body and took her out of the room. He was going to give her a proper burial.

* * *

Gaara woke up in a hospital and saw everyone standing around him.

"Gaara!" Temari screamed in happiness. She went over to Gaara's bed. Team Kakashi walked over too.

"Hey, Gaara you really gave us a good scare, ya know" Naruto said with a smile on his face.

"Ok guys, I think we should let Gaara rest for now. We'll leave in the morning" Kakashi said. Team Kakashi walked out to go and sleep at a motel they rented rooms at. Naruto moved closer to Kakashi to say something:

"Kakashi Sensei" Naruto whispered so that Sakura couldn't hear in front of them. "The man I was fighting, Deidara, survived." Kakashi looked at Naruto seriously and nodded.

"Ok Naruto, we'll report that to Gaara before we leave and also to Lady Tsunade when we get back" Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and they continued.

* * *

Team Kakashi woke up the next morning and got ready to leave. They headed to the gates where Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were waiting for them.

"I've been told about everything that happened during the mission. Thank you Naruto; I will also honour Lady Chiyo's last wish. The Leaf Village and The Sand Village will become allies from now on. I've already signed a treaty and sent it to the Leaf" Gaara said. He held out a hand to Naruto and smiled. Naruto smiled back and shook it. This would be the beginning of a new friendship between villages.

"Don't get yourself killed like that again, eh Gaara" Naruto said jokingly. Then he got a little serious. "Also, the man from whom I rescued you from, Deidara, survived. Keep the village on alert. The Leaf will be sending you a detailed report on his abilities. Oh and here" Naruto handed Gaara a scroll. "Sasori's body is in here." Gaara nodded at Naruto. "Alright, we're off then. Goodbye Gaara, Temari, Kankuro" Naruto said as he led his team off back to the village.

"Bye Naruto" Gaara said.

* * *

Team Kakashi reached the gates to the Leaf two days later; quicker than it took them to get to the Sand Village. They entered the village; the gates were open. They were greeted by Izumo and Kotetsu.

"You're back, eh" Kotetsu said.

"Yes, did the Sand's treaty letter arrive already?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah it did. Great work you guys" Izumo said. Team Kakashi continued to the Hokage Tower to report back their mission.

* * *

They walked into Hokage Tower into Tsunade's office where she was busy with paper work. Shizune was standing beside her with Ton Ton in her hands.

"Hey Naruto, Sakura you're back!" Shizune said excitedly. Tsunade looked up to see Team Kakashi standing in front of her desk.

"Reporting back from mission, Lady Tsunade" Sakura said respectfully.

"Don't worry guys I've already been informed of the mission from the Sand" Tsunade said.

"Lady Hokage" Naruto started. "I have useful Intel on the Akatsuki member I fought. He escaped when I rescued Gaara, and I chose not to pursue. Also I have scroll in which I have the dead body of a man who was transformed to not only look like Itachi Uchiha but he had the same chakra signature. Itachi Uchiha sealed a technique in his eye that he used against me. They were black flames. I sealed it in a fire sealing scroll which I have on me right now. I think you should have both the body and the fire examined, so that we can find its strengths and create a counter to it. And find out what sort of transformation was used on this body." Naruto finished and saw Tsunade's jaw dropped. She was surprised at Naruto's Intel gathering skills. Naruto layed out the fire sealing scroll and the larger one with the body sealed in it.

"Thank you Naruto, I will have that done. All I need from your team now is a full written report for documentation purposes. Here is your pay for this S-Class mission" Tsunade said as she opened a briefcase handing each of them their portion. Naruto and Sakura had never seen so much money. Kakashi laughed slightly at their reactions. "Now you are dismissed" Tsunade said. Sakura stayed back wanting to talk to Tsunade, and Kakashi and Naruto headed out of the building. Naruto sealed his briefcase full of money in an empty scroll and so did Kakashi.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade" Sakura started. "Please increase my training difficulty and level. And not just in Medical Ninjutsu. I want to learn ninjutsu as well; and Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Please." Tsunade looked at Sakura's determined look.

"Ok Sakura. Starting from tomorrow I'll be giving you a new training regimen. For now, rest up and recover" Tsunade said. Sakura nodded and left the building and headed home.

* * *

Sakura was on her way home when she saw Ino in her family's flower shop. Ino and Sakura had become good friends over the three years. She decided to stop and say hi before continuing home. She opened the door and bells jingled; to indicate to the owners someone had entered.

Ino looked up and saw Sakura walk in. "Hey, Sakura" Ino said. "What's up?"

"Hey, Ino; Just thought I'd stop by and say hi before going home. I just came back from my mission" Sakura said.

"Oh, that's nice; I heard you guys were sent out to fight the Akatsuki, and I was really worried about Naruto. I hear they're after all of the Tailed Beasts and since he has the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him, I was just worried. I hope he's dealing okay with all of this stuff. I haven't even seen him yet" Ino said with a worried look.

"Don't worry about Naruto, he's great!" Sakura said. "Wait, Ino how do you know that Naruto has a Tailed Beast inside him?" She asked.

"Oh, Shikamaru asked Lady Tsunade about it when we were reporting back from our last mission. She was a little hesitant to tell us but she made us promise not to tell anyone else. She told us most of the Jounin's knew about it already. She also told me you knew" Ino said. Sakura looked at her and nodded. "So how's Naruto acting with you? I mean I don't know if you've forgotten, but I'll never forget what you said that day three years ago. I've never seen you like that Sakura."

Sakura looked down and her eyes started watering. "Naruto hates me Ino. I want to earn back his friendship so badly but even I know that won't be easy after what I said to him" Sakura said as a tear rolled down her face. "Ino, thank you for not telling anyone else about that day" Ino looked at Sakura and felt sorry for her.

"I didn't want people to hate you Sakura. I thought that Naruto might've forgotten about it after three years but I guess not. Don't worry yourself about it" Ino said. Sakura wiped her tears and smiled slightly.

"Thanks Ino. Anyways, since I'm here I guess I'll buy some flowers for my house" Sakura said. Ino smiled at her and showed her the best flowers for her house. Sakura left the shop with flowers in her hands, and she continued home.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi were heading over to a training ground that Kakashi was leading them to.

"So, Kakashi Sensei, you're sure we'll find them here?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

"Yes I'm sure Naruto" Kakashi replied. They came onto a training field where three men were vigorously training. Currently they were having a battle royale between the three of them. The training field was covered in dust and shuriken.

The three men noticed Kakashi and stopped fighting. Kakashi walked over to them. "Hey, Raido, Genma, Iwashi" Kakashi raised his hand and waved.

"Hey Kakashi" Genma said while chewing on a toothpick. "What's up? And who's your friend there?" He said while pointing at Naruto.

"Come on Genma. I know it's been a long time since you've seen him but to not even recognize is Naruto Uzumaki" Kakashi said while he gestured Naruto to come up. Genma's toothpick dropped from his mouth. Iwashi and Raido walked up beside Genma after hearing Naruto's name.

"Hey, you were the proctor for my Chuunin exams weren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, kid I remember you, you defeated that Hyuuga kid right?" Genma asked trying to make it look like he didn't know who Naruto was or who his parents were. Kakashi cut in.

"Genma you don't have to keep up the act, he knows" Kakashi said. Genma looked at Kakashi and sighed.

"Thank god, I thought I was gonna blow it" Genma said. "So what brings you guys here?" He asked Kakashi. Naruto replied.

"I want you to teach me the Flying Raijin Jutsu" Naruto said seriously.

The three ninja's looked at Naruto's determination. 'Man, he has that same calm composure like his dad, but his determination just makes you want to stand by his side always; just like his mother' the three of them thought.

"No way; beat it kid" Raido said to Naruto. "Why the hell would we teach it to you. I don't care if you're the Fourth's son or not."

"I'm asking nicely, but if that's the way you're going to be like…I'll make you teach it to me" Naruto said with a serious look on his face.

"Heh, just like your old man; you'll ask nicely but if that person disagrees you will take what you want" Iwashi said with a smirk on his face.

"Ok kid, we'll teach you the jutsu" Raido said. Genma and Iwashi nodded in agreement. "Kakashi has to leave though. I'm sure your old man would've taught you the jutsu himself but he made us swear to never it teach it to anyone else. We're only making this exception because you're his son; but Kakashi isn't a part of that package."

"Don't worry guys, I respect Minato Sensei's wishes and your loyalty to him; besides I have my own training to attend to" Kakashi said. "I'll be leaving now. And Naruto, I'd prefer if you could complete your part of our deal soon. I've run out of reading material." Kakashi then left, leaving Naruto, Genma, Raido and Iwashi standing in the field.

"Alright kid, we'll start your training from tomorrow. We'll meet here at 6 am" Genma said.

"Okay, and thanks again" Naruto said; he body-flickered away from the field. He thought before heading home he should see Hinata.

* * *

The sun was about to start setting as Naruto entered the Hyuuga compound. Naruto was stopped by a Hyuuga guard.

"Who are you? State your business" The guard said. Naruto was quite surprised at the amount of security but understood it because of the incident with the Hidden Cloud Village.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm a Leaf ninja. I'm here to see Hinata Hyuuga" Naruto said. The guard looked him over.

"Okay, you may enter." The guard showed Naruto to Hinata's room. Naruto entered to see Hinata trying on something in front of her mirror. She saw him behind her and jumped a little.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? I didn't even know you were back from your mission." Hinata asked, happy to see Naruto.

"I just got back and I was on my way home and I thought I should stop by and see you" Naruto said with a smile. "What are you trying on there?" He asked.

"Oh, this" Hinata started as she turned around revealing a ninja vest. "Lady Tsunade promoted me to Jounin. I bought this new ninja outfit as well." She said.

"Wow! That's amazing, congratulations!" Naruto said. Hinata looked at his jacket and saw he was wearing a vest underneath it.

"Naruto did you get a promotion too?" Hinata asked.

"Yep, before I left the village Lady Hokage promoted me to Jounin" Naruto said.

"That's great!" Hinata said. "What do you think of my new ninja outfit though?" Hinata asked slightly nervous. She wasn't sure it looked good.

Naruto looked her up and down very carefully which made Hinata blush a little. His jaw dropped. "You look really beautiful in your new ninja outfit" Naruto said. Hinata blushed. She was now wearing a full black jumpsuit. Her right sleeve went down to her wrist and her left sleeve stopped at her elbow. Her jumpsuit went down to her ankles and stopped. She had black ninja sandals on. Over her jumpsuit she wore her Jounin ninja vest. She had her Leaf headband tied loosely around her neck. The simplicity of her outfit really brought out Hinata's beauty.

"Thank you Naruto, but you shouldn't stare like that" Hinata said; her face turned red.

"Heh, sorry I couldn't help it" Naruto said in a flirty tone. "So do you have any missions tomorrow?" He asked.

"No, what about you Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"No" Naruto said. "So since we're both free tomorrow I was wondering if maybe you wanted to…I don't know maybe finally go on our date?" Naruto asked nervously; Hinata could see it. Hinata blushed again imagining their date.

"Uum, sure Naruto" Hinata said. Naruto's nervousness vanished slightly.

"Great, so I'll come pick you up at 8? We'll have dinner" Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto" Hinata said. Before Hinata or Naruto could talk more they were interrupted by the same guard that brought Naruto in.

"You must leave now. It is time for Lady Hinata to sleep" The guard said. Naruto got up to leave.

"Bye, Hinata!" He said with a big smile on his face. Hinata smiled back.

"Goodbye, Naruto! See you tomorrow!" Hinata said.

Naruto left the compound and headed home. The sun had set and Naruto could see the moon shining high in the sky above him, lighting his way home; along with the Leaf Village's trusty street lamps.

* * *

Naruto got home and ate some dinner. He took a shower and looked at the time; it was 9 o' clock. He thought he should get to bed early and rest. He had a big day tomorrow; Firstly, he had his first date with Hinata, and secondly, he was learning his dad's greatest jutsu. Naruto fell asleep filled with excitement for tomorrow.

* * *

Elsewhere, two men were scavenging through a familiar hideout. One man had a plant coming out of his head, and his head was black on one side and white on the other. And the other wore a bright orange coloured mask.

"Tobi, this is bad" The plant man said.

"I won't disagree with you Zetsu" started the man named Tobi. "I didn't expect the Nine-Tails brat to become this strong. Because of this boy's stunts I will have to reveal who I truly am to the Akatsuki members. We must be very careful now. We will let things play out for now though" Tobi finished.

"Wow, is it that bad that you have to push our plans forward so quickly?" Zetsu asked.

"Yes" was all Tobi said before walking out of the Akatsuki hideout; Zetsu followed. As they got outside of the hideout Tobi said one last thing: "We must push our plans for the Infinite Tsukuyomi forward. All of the Tailed Beast's power will be mine."

The two men walked off in the darkness of night.

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, that took a loooong time to write. The Akatsuki is making their move. Naruto and Hinata are finally going to have their first date and Naruto will begin his training in learning The Flying Raijin Jutsu; it will take him time to learn it. Those of you who think I'm hating on Sakura I'm not. It will bring development to Sakura's character. She will feel how Naruto always felt. Anyways, ENJOY! REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter Five

* * *

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH**

* * *

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

* * *

Naruto awoke to his alarm's annoying rings. 'Well that's why I bought it' Naruto thought. He got up and checked the time. It was 4:30 am; he still had an hour and a half to get ready for his first training session with Genma, Raido and Iwashi. He went and brushed his teeth and ate some breakfast. After that, he went and showered put on his ninja outfit, and gathered his necessary ninja supplies and tools. He grabbed an ink and brush and some empty scrolls for when he needed to take notes. He grabbed his ninja tools; shurikens and kunai. He checked the time again before he left his little apartment: it was 5:30 am. He thought he would get to the training grounds a bit early and get his own practice in.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the training grounds at 5:45. He looked around for anyone else as he walked onto the field. He saw four people training vigorously in the middle of the field. He knew who it was as soon as he saw a green jumpsuit; Rock Lee. He walked closer and saw the rest of Lee's team there. Neji, Tenten, and the Leaf's Green Beast: Might Guy. Rock Lee and Guy were sparring in a taijutsu battle, while Tenten was trying to get past Neji's ultimate defense with her weapons. They all had different looks except for Lee and Guy. The only difference in Lee was his Chuunin vest. Neji was now wearing a traditional white Hyuuga shirt with black ninja pants and black ninja sandals. His hair had grown longer as well. Tenten wore a white long-sleeved shirt with red ninja pants and black ninja sandals.

* * *

Neji saw Naruto walking onto the field with his Byakugan as he was fighting Tenten. He motioned for her to stop and she did.

"What's wrong Neji? Did you get tired?" She asked in a mocking tone.

"No, of course not Tenten. Someone has arrived on our training field" Neji said plainly. Lee and Guy also stopped fighting to hear Neji's words. Team Guy turned around to see who was on the field. They spotted a man. He was wearing an orange jacket that broke into robes. They looked at the man's face to see who it was. Lee saw a pair of whisker's on each side of the man's face and recognized him.

"Guys, its Naruto!" Lee shouted to his teammates. Neji already knew. Tenten and Guy looked carefully at him as he got even closer.

"That can't be" Tenten started. "Is that really Naruto; The same brat from three years ago?"

Naruto finally stood face to face with the team. "Hi, guys it's been a while, huh" Naruto said.

"Yes it has been, Naruto" Neji replied.

"Naruto, now that you are back I would like to spar with you. I would like to see how much your youthful power has increased!" Lee said excitedly.

"Still, the same old, huh Lee" Naruto said with a slight smile on his face. Naruto saw a questioning look on Tenten's face. "What is it Tenten?" He asked.

"Wow, are you really the same Naruto?" Tenten finally asked.

"No" Naruto replied. "I'm not the same brat from three years ago." Team Guy looked at him and saw his determined look as he replied. Guy finally spoke.

"That's great Naruto. Your youthfulness has grown even more!" Guy said as he gave his signature thumbs up and smile. "So what brings you here?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm supposed to start my training here at 6:00 am" Naruto said.

"That's not possible though. We have these grounds signed out for until 7:00 am" Guy replied. "Of course we don't mind sharing the space."

"No, no it's fine. Once my Sensei's arrive we'll leave" Naruto said.

Guy and Neji both heard Naruto say "Sensei's" but chose to ignore it. It didn't really matter. "Ok Naruto, but until then train with us" Guy said. Naruto pulled out a pocket watch and saw the time: 6:00 am. He looked behind him and saw three men appear out of nowhere. They walked into a small forest.

"No can do, Guy Sensei. It's time for my training now, and my teachers are here now as well. So I got to go; maybe some other time. Bye!" Naruto said as he turned around and walked to the edge of the training ground and headed into the forest. Team Guy watched him walk into the forest and thought it was weird but continued their training. He saw Genma, Raido and Iwashi leaning against some trees and relaxing.

"Wow, that was pretty damn quick" Iwashi said. "I thought it would've taken you longer to find us."

"I sensed you guys as soon as you showed up" Naruto said. "You guys teleported here didn't you?" He asked.

The three ninja's were wide-eyed. "How'd you figure that out" Genma asked.

"Well I was constantly checking around for other chakra signatures than my own and Team Guy's for the past 15 minutes. And then out of nowhere three chakra signatures rapidly appeared all together. Kakashi Sensei told me it takes all three of you to teleport so I connected the dots." When Naruto finished he saw all three of his Sensei's shocked look.

"Wow, you're always on guard, eh?" Raido asked. Naruto laughed a little at his comment.

"Not always, but I expected you guys to do something flashy or unexpected today" Naruto replied back.

Genma stood up from the tree he was leaning against. "Ok, enough chit-chat; time for your training to begin. As Team Guy has informed you, we won't be training here. The first stage of your training will be knowledge. We'll explain the jutsu to you very thoroughly and make sure you understand it. This can take from a couple of days to weeks. It all depends on how quick you catch on; but considering what we've seen of you thus far, I'm going to say two days tops for you to understand the jutsu" Genma said.

"Ok" Naruto said. He didn't argue or whine that he had to read and learn before he could try out the jutsu. During his years with Jiraiya he had found a liking to reading. "But where are you guys going to teach me?" He asked. The three ninja's were waiting for this question. Raido smirked as he walked up to a giant tree. He lifted his thumb to his mouth and bit it. He made a line of blood with his thumb on his other hand.

"It's been a long time since we used this place, but here it goes" Raido said as he planted his hand onto the trunk of the tree. The tree started glowing and a small passageway opened around where Raido planted his hand. A door opened and Raido entered it. There was a ladder that led down underground. When Raido reached down he yelled. "The bloody thing still looks good as new!" His voice echoed upwards toward Naruto, Genma and Iwashi. Genma and Iwashi laughed at Naruto's reaction to the whole scene. He was wide-eyed in shock.

"Alright Naruto, let's go" Genma said. "I'll explain what this place is once we get down there." First Iwashi went down. After him, Naruto went. Genma went last and he sealed the door closed so that it looked like a normal tree to any passerby.

* * *

They all came down safely. Naruto looked at the giant arena of space. It didn't look like a room; it was like a giant canyon. 'What the hell is this place?' He asked himself.

"I know. You're asking yourself: what is this place? Am I right?" Iwashi said with a funny look. Naruto looked in his direction and nodded his head. "This is your father's personal training area. He designed and built it himself, long before he became Hokage. The only people who know about this place are Raido, Genma, me, and your dad. Not even Lord Third, Jiraiya Sensei or your mom; Kushina know about this place."

'Wow, Dad built this place. It's huge! I wonder if this is where he created his original jutsu." Naruto thought to himself, amazed by his father's training room. Naruto started walking forward, leaving his Sensei's back. He wanted to explore every inch of the room.

Raido, Iwashi, and Genma watched as Naruto quickly started searching and exploring. They followed behind him.

Naruto looked at every corner of the enormous rocky canyon room. 'How the hell did Dad build this?' He asked himself constantly as he walked forward. The room was almost never-ending. "Hey, Raido Sensei, Genma Sensei, Iwashi sensei" Naruto started. "Does this room ever end?" He asked.

Raido, Genma and Iwashi heard his question directed at them. Raido answered. "Of course there's an end to it. It's just really big."

Naruto heard Raido's answer and continued walking forward until he tripped on something and hit his head on the ground. "Oww!" Naruto yelled lightly. "The room looks really real and that's cool but why the hell did Dad put rocks and rubble in here?" He didn't direct the question to anyone in particular but Raido answered once again.

"C'mon kid" Raido started. "Look carefully where you tripped. That wasn't a rock. It was… Your father's Flying Raijin Kunai." Raido pointed to where the kunai lay. Naruto looked at it and was a little surprised.

"This is the Flying Raijin Kunai? I've never seen one before, heh" Naruto said. He had a proud smile on his face.

"Yep" Iwashi started. "Not only is this a Flying Raijin Kunai…this is the first Kunai your dad ever teleported to." Iwashi finished to see an astonished Naruto. He laughed at Naruto's dumbfounded expression.

'Dad, you really were the best ninja, huh' Naruto thought to himself in his head. 'Well now get ready to be surpassed Old Man.' Naruto had a bright smile on his face now. Iwashi, Genma and Raido had never seen Naruto smile so happily before; especially since he returned from his trip. He was always more serious. Naruto was so much like Minato: Calm and serious, but kind and happy as well.

"Alright, like I said before, enough chit-chat" Genma said. "You've explored enough. Let's go inside now." Genma pointed to his right where there was a small house. "That's where you'll be learning the knowledge part of your training. Let's go." Genma didn't wait as he walked to the small house. Naruto and Raido walked in as well. Naruto stopped just before entering as he noticed Iwashi heading into the middle of the canyon.

"Hey, Iwashi Sensei, what's wrong? Aren't you coming in?" Naruto asked.

"No Naruto, Raido and Genma will be teaching you inside. I'll be helping you with the next part of your training" Iwashi said as he warmly smiled at Naruto. Naruto nodded and walked inside.

* * *

Naruto walked into the house and looked around. The house was a little dusty. Inside, the house was full of books and scrolls of all types. Elemental scrolls, Sealing scrolls; some scrolls had information as well. The house had cabinets that were full of more scrolls and books. Genma was ruffling through a closet that was full of ninja supplies and tools. The house had one bathroom. Naruto was quite intrigued by the scrolls and books he saw lying around the house. Naruto wanted to fully explore the house but Genma returned.

Genma had some ninja tools and supplies in his hands; he layed them down on top of a small cabinet. He went to where Naruto was standing and opened a cabinet attached to the bottom part of the wall. From inside the cabinet he grabbed a book and sat down on small table in the middle of the room they were standing in. He gestured Naruto and Raido over. Raido went over and sat next to Genma while Naruto sat directly opposite both of them. Genma set the book he took from the cabinet on the middle of the table.

"Alright, time to begin the first lesson of your training" Genma said. Naruto nodded seriously. "Ok, the first thing that I'm going to ask you is…what kind of jutsu is The Flying Raijin?" Naruto thought hard for a second.

"The Flying Raijin: It is a space-time ninjutsu that allows the user to teleport to a seal that the user has planted" Naruto said. He was confident in his explanation.

"Very good" Genma started. "You're just as smart as I thought you would be. You actually might learn this quicker than I thought. Anyways, your explanation was right on the dot. Now let will explain the functions of the jutsu." Genma gestures Raido to open the book.

Raido flips through half of the book before stopping at a page. "Here we go." He slides the book to Genma who doesn't pick it up yet.

"When the user who is using The Flying Raijin Jutsu teleports what do you think happens?" Genma asked rhetorically. "When the user teleports, they are pulled in and out of another dimension at the speed of light; maybe even faster. When you exit the dimension you will be at the seal you wanted to teleport to. It is important to know exactly which seal you want to teleport to though" Genma said.

"Why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well the seal is the only means of activating the jutsu. The seal acts as a sort of rod that attracts and pulls the user through the dimension towards that specific seal that the user is focusing on" Raido answered in Genma's place.

"What happens if during my teleportation I change my mind?" Naruto asked.

"If you change your mind quick enough and choose a different marked location it will take you there; but if you don't make up your mind quick enough and lose focus…well to be honest with you Naruto, nobody knows what will happen because all of the users of this jutsu were cautious enough not to make that mistake. But if I was to guess I'd say that the dimension would close in on you, shutting you out from this world and keeping you in the jutsu's dimension. You would probably be ripped to shreds if you got stuck in there, by the time and speed the dimension travels at; although I can't confirm that for you because like I said, no one really knows." Raido finished his long explanation.

Naruto nodded to show that he understood, but still, the thought of that fact being a mystery piqued his curiosity, so he asked, "What if I sent one of my Shadow Clone's into the dimension and made him stay there, and had him dispel and relay his information back to me?"

"Well, your Shadow Clones have all of your abilities so they should be able to use The Flying Raijin Jutsu as well. But even if the Shadow Clone stayed in the dimension, you wouldn't be able to get any information from it. The jutsu's dimension is separate from us so when the Shadow Clone dispels, all of the information its gathered will be lost in that dimension and will disappear eventually. There is no way you can recover its finding's I'm afraid" Raido said.

"Ok" Naruto said.

"Alright then, moving on" Genma started as he turned the book towards Naruto. "Since Raido and I have explained the jutsu and how it works we can move onto the next part; seals."

This is what Naruto was really waiting for. Ever since his training with Jiraiya, he had taken a great interest in seal making.

"Like I was saying, I'll be explaining the seal that starts up the jutsu. You probably do not know, but there are no hand seals for the jutsu; this is so that no Sharingan-user may copy the jutsu. Anyways here look at this" Genma said as he turned the book so that it was facing Naruto. The seal was written normally but it didn't look anything like his dad's seal that he saw on the kunai in the underground training area.

"This is the seal that your dad puts on his special kunai. And Lord Second applied this seal to his katana and other tools. Raido, Iwashi and I can only use the jutsu together, so there's no point in applying the seal to ninja tools; because of that reason we never use the jutsu in battle either" Genma said.

Naruto stared at the seal long and hard before saying, "This seal doesn't look like the seal on my dad's kunai outside."

Genma heard Naruto and knew that Naruto would say that. "Naruto, look carefully. This is the same seal; your dad's kunai just has it written differently. I was going to explain but you sort of cut in."

Naruto looked at the seal and recognized the inscriptions, but Genma was right; his dad's kunai had it written differently. "I'm sorry for interrupting; I see the seal's similarities now. Please continue."

"Ok, thanks. What I was going to explain to you is that the reason this seal is different from your dad's seal is because this is the basis seal written down."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you what I mean but first let me ask you, what did you think you were going to train with?"

"My dad's kunai" Naruto said with his eyes a little narrow trying to find out Genma's reason for asking him this.

"You're wrong. You won't be training with your dad's kunai, or to be more frank; you can't train with your dad's Flying Raijin kunai" Genma said in a mysterious way.

"Wait what?!" Naruto was surprised. He didn't understand what his Sensei meant. "What does that mean; I can't train with my dad's kunai, Why not?" Naruto asked. As Genma was about to answer he was interrupted by a loud bell.

* * *

The bell startled Naruto. Genma just got up from his seat and walked over to the cabinet. He reached under the cabinet where the bell's noise was coming from and turned it off. He then turned around to face Naruto, "Sorry Naruto. I'm afraid our time is done for today" Genma said. "Its 10 o' clock and we all have to get back to our village duties."

"Ok" Naruto said, but inside his mind he was thinking, 'What did he mean when he said that I can't train with dad's special kunai. I can't believe training finished so quickly. I'll be sure to remember and remind him of this question tomorrow.'

Genma, Naruto and Raido walked out of the small house/cabin and saw that Iwashi was waiting for them all at the ladder. The walked over to the ladder to exit.

"Is it clear?" Raido asked.

"Yep, don't worry I made sure" Iwashi said with a warm smile. As Naruto was about to reach for the ladder he was stopped by Genma's words.

"Naruto, meet us at the tree again tomorrow at the same time as today. Tomorrow we'll be mixing it up a bit. Tomorrow or the day after should be your last day of learning, but we're going to start your physical training tomorrow. Got it?" Genma asked.

"Yeah, but what are you gonna teach me. Aren't you guys only going to teach me The Flying Raijin. If I'm not done my knowledge lesson than how am I supposed to progress to the next step?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about that. Just wait and you'll find out tomorrow" Genma said. He proceeded to go in front of Naruto and climb up the ladder and exit. Naruto started climbing up the ladder then. Raido and Iwashi followed behind.

All four of them got out and split; Naruto heading towards his house, while Genma, Raido and Iwashi headed towards Hokage Tower.

* * *

Naruto was on his way home when he remembered his date with Hinata. 'Shit, shit, shit! How could I forget?! Crap! I need to buy some clothes, since I only have my ninja outfit. Alright I'll head over to a clothing store first and then I'll grab a bite at Ichiraku's. After that I'll send my shadow clones to do some training while I go and do my own work.' Naruto had prepared his thoughts and went on to complete his tasks. First, he headed to a small clothing shop to buy clothes from the shop. 'I guess they're new in the village. Or else they probably would not let me into their shop' Naruto thought. He picked out some clothes and tried them on. He tried on black pants with a white collared shirt on top. He picked out some red robes to wear over the shirt. He looked in the mirror and liked his outfit. He took them off and bought them.

He walked out of the shop and stopped at the side. He took out an empty storage scroll. He sealed his newly bought clothes into the scroll. He then headed to his favourite place; Ichiraku Ramen.

* * *

He arrived at the stall and headed in. "Hey guys!" Naruto said with a smile plastered onto his face.

Ayame and old man Ichiraku turned around to see a man sitting on a stool. Ayame noticed whiskers on the man an immediately thought of, "NARUTO!" She yelled.

"Yep, I'm back from my training; well technically I've been back since a while, but I haven't had a chance to stop by. Anyways, now I'm here!" Naruto said.

Ichiraku was wide-eyed in shock. "Is that really you Naruto? I know you went out of the village to train and all, but heck you really changed ya' know."

"Yeah it's me old man. Who else has blonde hair, blue eyes and whiskers?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Wow, Naruto you look really strong. It looks like your training really paid off, huh?" Ayame asked, while drooling over Naruto's newly developed mature looks and body.

"Heh, yeah it really paid off" Naruto said. "Anyways guys, can we talk later because I am absolutely dying to have some of your ramen old man. I've waited three long years for this."

"Haha" Ichiraku laughed. "Same as before right: one miso with pork coming right up!" Ichiraku walked into the back and started preparing his food. Naruto noticed Ayame still drooling over him.

"Hey, Ayame, you might want to help your pops" Naruto said trying to get Ayame off his back.

"Oh, umm, yeah, of course" She said as she ran into the back to help her dad.

* * *

Twenty minutes later:

"Ohhhh maaaan" Naruto said as he finished his tenth bowl of ramen. "That was goooood. Thanks guys, I really enjoyed this meal" Naruto said happily. Naruto thought to himself, 'I guess that'll be my last bowl for another long time.'

"No problem Naruto" Old man Ichiraku said.

"Yeah, don't mention it Naruto" Ayame said with a weird smile.

"Alright then, I'll be going now" Naruto said as he put some money on the counter and walked out of the ramen stall. 'Ok, right now it's about almost 11 o' clock. So I have eight-or nine hours before my date with Hinata. This is good. I have time to explore the village for a while.'

* * *

Naruto started wandering around the village. He kept thinking about what Genma said to him during his training in the morning. 'Why can't I use dad's kunai? Do I have to make some of my own? AHHHH!' Naruto shook his thoughts off. There was no point in asking himself something that he couldn't answer. Naruto turned right on the street and continued forward. He stopped when he saw a familiar shop. The sign read: HIGURASHI WEAPONS!

Naruto decided to head into the shop. 'Man, this brings back some memories. These guys were the only ones who sold me ninja tools while I was a Genin.' Naruto opened the door and a small chime sounded telling the owner someone was in the shop. Naruto felt nostalgic as he gazed his eyes around the shop.

"Hello sir, welcome to HIGURASHI WEAPONS SHOP!" said a man wearing a bright smile for his customer.

"Hi!" Naruto said back. He remembered the man's face from his Genin days. The man stared at Naruto; he thought he was seeing a ghost.

"Hey, kid is this, your first visit to this shop?" He asked.

"C'mon old man, you don't remember me? You were the only one who sold me weapons when I was younger. It's me; Naruto Uzumaki."

The man stared blankly at Naruto. He could've sworn, for a second he thought that The Fourth Hokage was standing in front of him. "Naruto Uzumaki, huh; I remember you from three years ago. My daughter talks about you a lot ya know. She told me you left to train for three years."

"Yeah, I got back a couple of days ago. Who's your daughter anyway? I don't think she was ever here when I came to buy my ninja tools" Naruto said.

"Oh, my daughter's name is Tenten Higurashi."

Naruto's eyes widened. He couldn't believe out of all of his visits to the shop he didn't ever see Tenten here. "Tenten's your daughter?" Naruto asked rhetorically. The man just nodded.

"So what do you need? Weapon's, or maybe scrolls?" The man asked.

"Oh, I don't need anything. I had some free time so I just started exploring the village, and I happened across your shop. Anyways, I thought I'd just stop by and see the shop. I'll be going now, bye old man" Naruto said as he started walking towards the exit door; he stopped. "Hey old man, you never told me you name. What is it?" Naruto asked as he looked at the man standing behind the counter.

"Raido Higurashi" He said.

"Bye then Raido" Naruto said in a friendly but respectful way. He exited the shop and decided to head home and get some rest until his date.

Raido stared at the spot where Naruto exited from with his eyes wide open. 'He's just like you…Minato.'

* * *

Naruto opened the door to his apartment and went inside. He closed the door and lied down on his small couch. 'Man, I should get some rest' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes. Before he knew it he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

'Naruto I hate you!' 'I wish you were the one who left!' 'I wouldn't even bother trying to save you!' 'Good riddance!' That thought kept ringing in Naruto's head. 'Good riddance!' 'Good riddance!' 'Good riddance' 'Look it's the monster' 'Stay away from the Demon-brat' 'don't go near him!' 'Thank god! This village would be destroyed if we let a monster like him become a ninja' Naruto opened his eyes and found himself standing in a familiar room.

"NINE TAILS!" Naruto said angrily. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!" Naruto shouted at the large cage in front of him. A pair of eyes and a sinister smile broke the darkness from behind the bars.

"**What seems to be the problem…Naruto?" **The Nine-Tails asked rhetorically.

"What's the problem? You know what you did!" Naruto shouted again. Naruto calmed down a little and then stared hard into the Foxes eyes. "Why? Just when I thought we were becoming friends" Naruto said still staring into Nine-Tails' eyes.

Nine-Tails was taken back a little by Naruto's stare, but stared back, trying to latch his hatred onto Naruto. "**HA**" The Nine-Tails laughed once. "**Becoming friends? Stupid human! I am a Tailed-Beast, and you are a lowly human.**"

"No, Nine-Tails. You know that you don't believe that. You stopped talking like that a while back. You don't want to steal my body even, so what was your true purpose for bringing me here?" Naruto asked. "Why did you make me think about that again?"

"**I didn't make you do anything. Those were your thoughts buried deep inside you. Inside the real you Naruto; the you that hates, and only hates. All I did was bring those thoughts to the surface for you to see; and as for my true purpose? I don't have one.**"

"The real me, huh" Naruto said. "The real me is standing right before you!"

"**Don't fool yourself! The real you is right here**" Nine-Tails shouted.

Something- or rather someone, started coming out of the ground. The figure stood face to face with Naruto. Tears were pouring out of its eyes. Naruto looked closely and saw his younger self.

"**If you can accept your true self that hates you, me and everybody else; that is when you will be able to master my power…Naruto**" Nine-Tails said.

The young Naruto wiped his tears but they wouldn't go away. His eyes were tired and red. He ran at Naruto. Naruto couldn't move as much as he tried. It was as if he was being held in place. The young Naruto got nearer and nearer until his fist connected with Naruto who fell back and went unconscious.

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open. 'What the fuck was that?' He asked himself. 'Did that really happen? It felt real but could I have been dreaming. That's crazy though! I was dreaming about Nine-Tails and…the real me?' Naruto shelved his thoughts for now as he got up to check the time; 7:30pm. A smile appeared on Naruto's face.

He took out the scroll inside which he sealed his clothes for his date. He went into his bedroom and placed the scroll on his desk. He put his hand on it and channelled chakra into the scroll. A small cloud of smoke appeared and in front of Naruto laid his clothes. He laid them down on his bed, while he washed up a little. He wore his date outfit and checked himself out in his mirror. 'Looking good' he thought to himself. He noticed his headband still on his forehead. 'Woops, almost forgot to take it off.' He untied his headband and carefully placed it in his drawer. He looked back in the mirror and saw his hair. 'If only you could see me now…dad' Naruto thought as he compared his father's looks with his own, and found an uncanny match.

He grabbed a scroll in which he sealed some flowers in. He was planning on giving them to Hinata when he walked her back to her house. He locked the door to his apartment and left for Hinata's house.

* * *

Naruto was walking to Hinata's house. He was thinking about how he would greet her. 'Hey, baby' 'What's up Hinata!' 'Ready for our date…sexy' 'Ready for our date Hinata…yes that was it; clean and simple and polite; ready for our date Hinata.' Naruto decided on that and continued forward. He looked at his pocket watch; 7:50. 'Good, I won't be too early, and I won't be too late.' He turned right and got onto the street the Hyuuga compound was on. He could see the Hyuuga compound in the back. He saw a giant crowd standing in front of it, mixed with ninja and villagers. Naruto started walking faster towards the compound. He pushed his way through the crowd and reached the front. Half of the Hyuuga compound was demolished.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled at a ninja guarding the front of the compound. The ninja turned to look at Naruto. "What the hell happened here? Has everyone been evacuated?" Naruto asked concerned for Hinata.

The ninja looked at Naruto and recognized him from a description Hinata had given him a couple of days ago. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" The ninja asked. Naruto confirmed his thoughts.

"Yes I am Naruto Uzumaki, now please answer me" Naruto said. The guard gestured at a guard behind him to come and take his place. He started walking away from the compound; Naruto followed him.

The ninja brought Naruto and himself into a small alleyway before talking. "My name is Ko Hyuuga. I was Lady Hinata's personal bodyguard. What I am about to tell you, you must not tell to anyone else, understood?" Ko asked.

"Understood" Naruto said back in his calm, serious composure taking in every piece of information given to him.

"Someone infiltrated the Hyuuga compound and kidnapped Lady Hinata." Naruto didn't as much as blink as he mentioned this, but in his heart he worried greatly for Hinata.

"What happened to all of the other Hyuuga guards?" Naruto asked. Ko Hyuuga was a little surprised by Naruto's calm composure.

"The enemy knocked everyone out, but Hinata caught them and she engaged the enemy in battle. She put up a great fight. You can see her powers effect on the compound itself" Ko said. Naruto remembered the compounds condition. He was happy Hinata put up a fight, but was worried that the enemy was able to still take her after their fight.

"How long was the fight?" Naruto asked trying to get as many details as possible.

"The fight lasted ten minutes. We've sent our security footage to Lady Hokage and she has had her people examine the tape. At the end of the tape you can clearly see a cloud-ninja headband. So as of right now we are assuming that the cloud has once again tried to obtain the Hyuuga's prized Byakugan."

Naruto stared off as he formulated a small plan in his mind. "The enemy shouldn't be too far out of the village if Hinata injured them during their fight. I need to see Lady Tsunade and see how she's going to respond to this. Thank you Ko Hyuuga" Naruto said as he jumped onto the nearest building and headed to the Hokage Tower. 'I will save you Hinata…I…promise.'

* * *

Naruto reached the Hokage Tower. He chose to run up the side of the tower and enter directly throught the Hokage's office window. He opened the window and entered.

Shizune was surprised by Naruto's entrance. Tsunade expected it.

"You know why I'm her M'lady" Naruto said as he stood in front of her desk.

"Yes, I do know Naruto. I've put together a team to go out and bring Hinata Hyuuga back to the Leaf" Tsunade said.

"I want to be on the team" Naruto said plainly.

Tsunade was a little surprised. "I've already added you to the list. Your Shadow Clones will be a great asset in the search. Along with you on the team there will be: Kakashi Hatake, Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara."

The door opened from behind Naruto and Kakashi, Kiba and Akamaru, and Shikamaru entered the room. They all walked forward and stood beside Naruto.

"Reporting for duty M'lady" Kiba said with a grin.

"Reporting" was all Kakashi said.

Shikamaru didn't say anything; it was probably too troublesome for him.

"Ok, we do not know the abilities of the currently assumed enemy cloud-ninja. They left through the front gate; they defeated Izumo and Kotetsu. You will follow them and retrieve Hinata Hyuuga. Naruto…I'm making you team leader for this mission" Tsunade said. This surprised Kiba and Shikamaru who had not yet seen Naruto's new abilities.

"Hey Lady Tsunade, I don't wish to speak out or anything, but shouldn't the leader be Kakashi or Shikamaru? Naruto's still a Genin too. He's the lowest in rank compared to us" Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Naruto is a high-classed Jounin ninja Kiba" Tsunade stated. Kiba was shocked. He stared at Naruto who was still wearing his date outfit. "If there are no more questions you may leave."

* * *

Naruto led the team out of the tower to the front of the village. Nobody said a word while Naruto was leading them. They reached the village gates where Naruto stopped them.

"Ok, guys this is the plan" Naruto started. "Kiba can you and Akamaru smell the enemy. I only need a general direction of where they went."

Kiba and Akamaru sniffed out the air. "They headed west from here in that direction" Kiba said while pointing to the west.

"Ok good" Naruto said. "I'm going to create some Shadow Clones. Kakashi Sensei, I want you to summon your ninja dogs. I'm going to pair each of my Shadow Clones with each of your dogs."

Kakashi formed some hand seals and summoned eight dogs varying in size. Naruto created eight Shadow Clones to match Kakashi's number of dogs. The dogs each walked next to a clone.

"Alright, I want my clones and the ninja dogs to head in the direction pointed out by Kiba and spread out. Search everywhere you smell the enemy was or is; it might help you get a stronger sense of them. Alright go!" Naruto said. His Shadow Clones and Kakashi's ninja dogs jumped onto a tree and moved forward into the forest ahead of them. "Okay, Kiba I want you and Akamaru to lead Kakashi Sensei, Shikamaru and I. We will follow you're the enemies smell that you sense. If anyone of my clones finds the enemy first it will dispel and give me its direct location. Let's go!" Naruto shouted. Kiba was shocked but moved into the forest leading Naruto, Kakashi and Shikamaru. 'When did Naruto get so friggin strong' He thought. Kakashi and Naruto were side by side while Shikamaru was in the back. Shikamaru was quite interested by Naruto's new skills and smarts. 'I guess the guy grew up' He thought.

Naruto and Kakashi were keeping pace when Kakashi whispered something to Naruto. "Why didn't you just use your Sage Mode?"

"I need to save that in case I need it in battle. If these ninja's beat Hinata, then I need all of my strength to…kill them" Naruto said. Kakashi was a little surprised.

"Naruto don't be modest, we all know you are stronger than any of the rookies from the years ago" Kakashi said.

"That is true Kakashi Sensei, but you have not seen Hinata's strength and power" Naruto said remembering the Hyuuga compounds condition after Hinata's fight. "She's probably on par with you if not stronger than you Sensei. The new generation is slowly but surely taking over" Naruto said with a smile. Kakashi was even more surprised by Naruto's comment but chose not to question Naruto right now.

"Guys, I got a strong scent of the enemy from that direction" Kiba said pointing to his left.

"Alright" Naruto said as they slightly change their course of direction. They kept moving through the forest until Kiba signalled everyone to stop.

"They're right in the clearing in front of us" Kiba whispered. "By the looks of it, they've made camp because they're scent's aren't moving."

"Ok everybody" Naruto started with his eyes closed. "We're going to ambush them now." Naruto opened his eyes to show his Sage Mode activated.

'Heh, that's the Naruto I know' both Kiba and Shikamaru thought. They wondered why his eyes were like that but left that thought for the time being.

Naruto's eyes widened a little which surprised everyone.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I sense two enemy chakra's with my Sage Mode" Naruto said.

"Yeah, I smelled two enemy chakra's and Hinata's" Kiba said.

"Kakashi Sensei, I've sensed one of the chakra's before. It's from our fight at the Akatsuki hideout; this is Deidara's chakra" Naruto said. Kakashi's eyes widened as well, while Shikamaru and Kiba were a little surprised at the information.

"Akatsuki" Shikamaru whispered. "What do they want with Hinata? What about the clound-ninja headband on the security footage at the Hyuuga compound?"

"They lured us into this. The Akatsuki knew I would come to rescue Hinata, and they thought this would be their perfect chance to take me" Naruto said. "Enough chit-chat now; my Sage Mode doesn't last forever. I only have fifteen minutes left. Shikamaru I want you to stay hidden over here. When you get the chance I want you to bind the two Akatsuki members with your Shadow Possesion Jutsu."

"But how, it's night-time and there are no shadows" Shikamaru said.

"Don't worry, when you get a chance just do it okay?" Naruto asked.

"Got it" Shikamaru said.

"Alright, Kiba, Kakashi Sensei, hit them with strongest attack. It's better if we finish this with the first move. They won't expect it" Naruto said. "Attack in three, got it?"

"Okay" Kiba and Kakashi said. 'Naruto, Minato Sensei would be proud to see you like this; all grown up' Kakashi thought.

"Three, two…one!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi, Kiba and Naruto jumped into the clearing with their attacks ready and hit the enemy.

* * *

"Fang Over Fang" Kiba yelled as Akamaru and him twisted into a large drill/tornado and dived into the clearing.

"Chidori" Kakashi shouted as he dashed into the field with a large Lightning Blade covering his entire arm. 'This is untested but I hope this works' Kakashi thought.

"Giant Rasengan" Naruto yelled as he smashed his Rasengan into the clearing.

A large amount of dust was kicked up because of the jutsu's.

"Whew, man" A man said from within the smoke. "That was quite the combo wouldn't you say."

"Yes it was" Another man said. "It seems the Leaf isn't just full of useless ninja." The smoke cleared up to reveal Naruto, Kakashi and Kiba standing on one side of the clearing. Hinata was tied up to a tree behind them. On the other side stood two Akatsuki members; the blonde, Deidara and…a man wearing a bright orange mask, with an eye hole on the right side of his mask; Tobi. Naruto had deactivated his Sage Mode.

"Naruto Uzumaki" Tobi started. "Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox; come with us now."

Tobi stared at Naruto with his eye. Kakashi looked at the man's eye; 'A Sharingan?!' Kakashi thought. 'How?!' Naruto created two Shadow Clones that untied Hinata.

"No" was all Naruto said back to Tobi.

"I see" Tobi said.

"Who are y-you" Kakashi said a little shakily. "How did you get that Sharingan."

"My name? Is that what you want? My name is…Madara; Madara Uchiha. The Sharingan in my right eye sadly is not my original" Madara said. "You were thinking of your late teammate weren't you?" Madara asked rhetorically. "Obito Uchiha."

Kakashi started shaking and his eyes widened. His shaking was stopped as he felt a hand slap onto his shoulder. "Sensei, don't pay attention to his words. He's fucking with you" Naruto said calmly.

Madara clapped. "Bravo, Uzumaki. It seems you have grown up from the little brat you used to be."

"You seem quite nonchalant about all this…Madara. Are you that confident in your abilities" Kiba said.

"Kiba don't be a fool. Madara Uchiha rivalled the First Hokage, who was known as the strongest ninja in the world. It was told that the First killed Madara in their final battle, but it seems people were wrong" Naruto said. Kiba shut up after he heard what Naruto said.

"That they were" Madara said. "Naruto Uzumaki, this was a…warning shall we call it. The next time we'll destroy all of the Leaf Village." Naruto's Shadow Clone appeared from the forest behind Madara and attacked him with a Rasengan. He missed?!

Naruto's clone missed and connected with the ground; it dispelled.

"Wow, Naruto if you're going to hit him with a sneak attack at least hit him, idiot" Kiba said.

Naruto shook his head. "I did hit him Kiba" Naruto started. "From my clones Intel I've learned that the clone didn't miss…it went right through him." Kiba was shocked.

"Naruto, how is that possible?!" Kiba asked.

"I don't know" Naruto said.

"Tsk,tsk. Naruto Uzumaki, one shouldn't interrupt someone when they're talking. Don't you know your basic manners" Madara said. "Like I was saying, we'll destroy the entire Leaf Village next time. Prepare yourselves…you'll need it. Deidara, let's go." Madara grabbed Deidara's shoulder and starting swirling inwards until they were gone.

* * *

Shikamaru and Naruto's clones jumped down from the tree they were hiding in. "What the hell was that?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure, but let's head back into the village for now. We have a lot to report" Naruto said. Naruto dispelled the clones that were holding Hinata and he picked her up himself. He also dispelled his other clones that were with Kakashi's ninja dogs. "Kakashi Sensei has your summoning ended?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, my ninja dog summons have disappeared" Kakashi said.

"Alright let's head back then" Naruto said as he leapt into the trees and started moving forward. The rest followed him back.

* * *

Naruto was leading his team back when he noticed Hinata waking up in his arms. She opened her eyes and saw Naruto looking down at her while he jumped through the forest. She smiled. "Hey, you're awake" Naruto said.

"Yes" Hinata started. "You save me. Thank you Naruto."

"It's all right" Naruto said to Hinata.

"I really tried to beat them Naruto. I gave it my all-

Hinata was cut off by Naruto. "Shh, Hinata. You don't have to prove anything. You are already strong" Naruto whispered to Hinata. He raised her forehead and kissed it. He continued on and neither Hinata nor he spoke again.

* * *

Naruto and his team reached the village gates where they were stopped by Izumo and Kotetsu who were now wide awake. "State your business!" They both shouted.

"Guys it's only us" Kiba said.

"Oh, sorry guys go ahead" Izumo and Kotetsu said as they allowed them to pass. They headed straight to Hokage Tower.

* * *

Naruto carried Hinata up to the office where Shizune stopped him. "Naruto, allow me to take Hinata. I'll heal her; she needs rest" Shizune said. Two medical ninja's appeared from the side with a stretcher. Naruto laid Hinata down on the stretcher.

"That was one crazy first date, huh?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Hinata giggled. "I'd like to go on another if that's okay with you."

"I'd love to go on another date" Hinata said still giggling. Hinata closed her eyes and relaxed into the stretcher. The medical ninja's carried her away to the hospital with Shizune behind them.

Naruto turned around to see everyone wide-eyed in shock; Kiba especially. Naruto ignored the looks and walked into Tsunade's office. Tsunade was sitting at her desk looking a little stressed out. Jiraiya was standing beside her with his arms folded.

"Lady Tsunade, we were successful in our retrieval of Hinata Hyuuga" Kakashi said.

"Good" Tsunade said. "We heard some commotion coming from outside the village. I'm glad you're all okay. Give me the details of your mission" Tsunade directed the question towards Naruto.

Naruto stepped up a little. "The enemy ninja were not cloud-ninja; they were Akatsuki" Naruto said. Tsunade's eyes widened. After a minute she narrowed them in anger.

'Damn Akatsuki' Tsunade thought to herself.

"One of the member's we faced was Deidara" Naruto said. Tsunade nodded; she knew he was alive and would be back. "The second man is where the trouble started." Tsunade raised an eyebrow hearing Naruto's words. "The second man wore an orange mask with one eye-hole. He had a Sharingan and called himself Madara Uchiha." Tsunade and Jiraiya both were shocked. "I know Lady Tsunade, it's troubling. I attacked him with one of my clones and it went right through him. It's like he is a ghost. He has the ability to let things pass through him when he want's; at least that's what it looked like in our short-length battle. At the end he grabbed his teammate and disappeared into thin air."

Tsunade listened to Naruto's explanation and began stressing out a little. 'How is that possible though?' Tsunade thought to herself. Jiraiya decided to lighten the mood a little.

"So Naruto! How does it feel? You've led your very first mission today!" Jiraiya said with a little too much excitement.

"It was amazing Jiraiya Sensei" Naruto said in a sarcastic tone. He knew Jiraiya was trying to lighten the mood but Naruto felt now was not the time for it. Everyone in the room needed to know what they were up against. "M'lady" Naruto started. "The man who called himself Madara said that this was a warning. Next time he is going to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village." Naruto saw Tsunade's expression; she was full of anger.

"Thank you for your report Naruto. Everyone is dismissed" Tsunade said. Everybody started leaving her office. Naruto stayed where he stood.

"I said you can go Naruto" Tsunade said.

"Hey, Granny" Naruto started. Tsunade was a little surprised at Naruto calling her without Lady. "The Akatsuki are after me. Allow me to leave the village and journey somewhere else. I will fight them on my own and defeat them" Naruto said shocking Jiraiya and Tsunade both. "I don't want to put the village in danger."

"Don't be stupid Naruto" Jiraiya started; he was serious. "Even if you were to leave the village, what happens when the Akatsuki come looking for you, they'll start here. Either way the village will be destroyed." Naruto understood that Jiraiya was right.

"Okay, Sensei, you're right. I have another plan in mind" Naruto said. Jiraiya raised his eyebrow at Naruto's reply.

"I'm not going to say anything right now though. You guys will have to wait and see."

"Okay, but I hope you know what you are doing kid" Jiraiya said; his eyebrow still raised a little.

"Okay, now go and get some rest" Tsunade said. Naruto left the Hokage Tower and headed for the hospital.

* * *

Naruto reached the hospital and went inside. He walked up to the front desk. "Excuse me" Naruto said to grab the secretary's attention. "Can you tell me which room Hinata Hyuuga is in?"

"Yes, she is in room 403. That's on the fourth floor" The secretary said. Naruto thanked the woman and headed up the stairs.

* * *

He was walking towards Hinata's room when he noticed Shizune coming out of it with her medical lab coat on. He stopped her. "Shizune, how is she doing?" Naruto asked.

Shizune stopped when she heard Naruto call her. "Don't worry Naruto, she's perfectly fine. She was just exhausted from using all of her chakra. You can see her now" Shizune said pointing to Hinata's room. Naruto walked quickly to the room and opened the door.

He entered and saw Hinata lying awake on the bed. She turned her head and saw Naruto; she smiled. Naruto grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit right beside her head. "Hey, Hinata" Naruto said. "Where is your family?" He asked.

"Oh, they already saw me and left. My father actually wished me well" Hinata said happily.

"Oh, okay. So how are you feeling?" Naruto asked.

"I'm pretty tired" Hinata said.

"Yeah, me too" Naruto said as he put his head in Hinata's lap. This startled Hinata a little, but she liked the weight of Naruto's head in her lap so she didn't say anything.

"Naruto" Hinata started. "Thank you for saving me."

"No Hinata" Naruto mumbled as he started falling asleep. "Thank you for saving me" Naruto said as he fell asleep completely. Hinata smiled and closed her eyes as well.

'You accepted me when my family wouldn't and I accepted you when no one in this village would. We both...saved each other' Hinata thought to herself as she fell asleep.

* * *

Authors Note: Okay guys, sorry for the late chapter. I have been a little sick and am currently busy with school so release dates for chapters will vary from time to time. Along with this chapter I am posting a poll to vote for whether people want more Sakura bashing or if they want the bashing to stop. Tell me what you think about my theory on the Flying Raijin or Hiraishin so far. More will be explained in the next few chapters. Akatsuki is making their move as well.

The coming week I am taking a break so expect the next chapter next week. Everyone has until next week to vote in the poll (the poll can be viewed on my profile page). ENJOY! REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto: The Ninja

Chapter Six

* * *

Talking - "blah blah"

Thinking - _'blah blah'_

Jutsu - Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu

Nine Tails - **BLAH BLAH**

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. The sun shined brightly through the hospital window. Naruto saw that he was still lying in Hinata's lap. 'I wish I could lay here forever' Naruto thought; he chuckled at himself slightly. He raised his head and got up from his chair; he stretched a little. Naruto's gaze landed on the clock: 5:45 am. 'SHIT!' Naruto thought when he realized that he'd almost overslept his training. He had fifteen minutes to get to the training field before he was late. Naruto looked at his clothes and saw that he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He walked over to the window and opened it. He would have to really run to make it to his apartment for a change of clothes and still be able to make it for his training before being late. Before Naruto jumped he turned and looked at Hinata. "Just sleep Hinata. I'll come back as soon as I'm done. Bye" Naruto said lightly so that Hinata didn't wake up. He turned back to the window and dived through the opening.

* * *

Naruto jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he landed on the balcony of his apartment. He quickly ran to his door and opened it. Naruto ran into his apartment and went into his room to change into his ninja clothes. He threw on his ninja pants and black t-shirt. He put his Jounin vest on and wore his orange cloak styled jacket over top. He put on his leaf headband and shoes, grabbed his ninja supplies and then checked the time: 5:55 am. 5 minutes left. Naruto quickly locked his apartment and started heading towards the training grounds.

* * *

Naruto landed at the edge of the large grounds and pulled out his watch: 5:59 am. 'Yes, I just made it' Naruto thought. He looked around to see if anyone else was using the training grounds. Not a soul in sight. Naruto walked over to the small forest and walked to the tree that was the entrance to his father's personal underground training area. He leaned against the wall and sat down. 'I should be awarded a medal or something' Naruto thought. 'I had to have broken a record with the speed I ran at to get here in time.' He stabilized his breath and looked around for his Sensei's. Naruto felt the presence of three chakras appear suddenly out of thin air.

Genma, Raido and Iwashi walked out from behind a tree and walked over to Naruto.

"Did you guy's teleport here?" Naruto asked. He knew there was no other explanation or how the three chakras appeared out of nowhere.

"Yep, did you sense us appear?" Iwashi asked with his always bright smile.

"Yeah, I did" Naruto said and responded back with a light smile. Naruto proceeded to stand up.

"Alright Naruto, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Genma asked getting Naruto's full attention.

"Yes Sensei" Naruto started. "You said that today my Physical training will be starting."

"Correct. I just wanted to make sure you remembered" Genma said. "Anyways before we head inside I want you to give me some blood." Naruto was surprised by his Sensei's request. 'My blood' Naruto thought in his head trying to figure out for himself what Genma would need his blood for. Naruto's reaction faded away quickly as he realized why Genma wanted his blood. He pulled out a kunai and made a small cut on the palm of his hand. He handed the kunai to Genma.

Genma saw that Naruto gave his blood very willingly and was a little worried. Even if he was his Sensei, he should've at least questioned why he needed his blood. Genma decided to ask Naruto. "Naruto, aren't you wondering why I wanted your blood?"

"No, I already figured it out" Naruto said.

"Oh, really?" Genma asked.

"Yeah" Naruto started. "You want to bind my blood to the key seal on the tree." Genma was quite surprised and impressed as well that Naruto figured it out so quickly.

"Well done on figuring it out" Genma said. He took the kunai that Naruto was holding out towards him. Genma turned to look at Iwashi and nodded at him. Iwashi understood.

Iwashi began forming hand seals. He slammed his hand onto the tree and said, "Blood Key Seal." The tree started glowing brightly. Genma walked over to the tree and poured a drop of the blood that was on the kunai onto the trunk of the tree. The light died out and the tree went back to normal. "It's done" Iwashi said.

"Ok, now then let's head down" Genma said. "Naruto, if you'll do the honors." He gestured at Naruto to come to the tree and unlock the seal. Naruto walked over and planted the hand he cut with the kunai knife on the trunk of the tree. The blood connected with the invisible seal. The door to the underground training grounds opened. Iwashi climbed down first, and Naruto followed behind him. Raido came in last and locked the door and activated the seal again before climbing down. Naruto noticed that Genma was not there.

"Hey Raido Sensei" Naruto started getting Raido's attention. "Where is Genma Sensei?"

"He had some errands to run and won't be joining us today" Raido said. "Alright, let's now waste any time now. I just have to explain a few more things about the jutsu and then we can start your physical training. Let's go into the house now." Naruto nodded and followed behind. He still wondered what the physical training was going to be. He saw that Iwashi stayed outside.

* * *

Naruto and Raido entered the small house and sat down at the same table from yesterday. Everything was left untouched.

"Okay Naruto" Raido started. "Yesterday Genma and I were just about to explain to you why you couldn't use your father's Flying Raijin kunai right?" Raido asked rhetorically. "The reason is…" Naruto listened very closely. "The reason you can't use Minato's kunai is because… they aren't yours" Raido said plainly. Naruto was a little confused with his Sensei's plain explanation so he decided to inquire about it.

"What do you mean they aren't mine?" Naruto asked.

"Let me show you instead" Raido said as he picked up the book that was lying on the table from yesterday. He flipped through a couple of pages and then stopped. He turned the book towards Naruto and pushed it towards him. Naruto grabbed the book and looked at the page. There were pictures of three seals on the page and a picture of the Second and Fourth Hokage's.

"How does this help your explanation?" Naruto asked. Raido put his finger where the first seal was and spoke.

"This is the basic Flying Raijin Seal" Raido said as he slid his finger to the picture of the second seal and the picture of the Second Hokage. "This is the Second Hokage's seal." Raido slid his finger to the final seal and the picture of the Fourth Hokage. "And lastly, this is your father's; the Fourth Hokage's seal. Do you notice the differences between the Second and Minato's seals'?" Naruto looked carefully at the images before responding to Raido's question.

"Well the Second Hokage's seal is written in a different way than my dad's right?" Naruto said and asked.

"Correct, and that is exactly what Minato realized. He requested the Second's personal files from Lord Third Hokage to figure out the trick to the jutsu… and he did figure it out" Raido said.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"In order to use the seal to this jutsu you must own it" Raido said, further confusing Naruto.

"You know, over the past three years I've become really smart but I didn't understand a single word that came out of your mouth" Naruto said with a confused look on his face. Raido laughed a little at Naruto's response.

"You have to create your own original seal" Raido said, trying to simplify his explanation. "You cannot use someone else's seal. It just won't respond to you because it's not yours."

"Now I understand" Naruto said.

"But it's not only that" Raido said. "Your seal has to signify you as a person. Who are you? That's the question; that's where you really have to think."

"Something that signifies me as a person" Naruto said out loud to himself. "What about the Second Hokage's seal and my dad's seal?" Naruto asked. "What do their seal's represent?"

"Well your dad's is pretty simple and it might sound a little stupid as well" Raido said as he chuckled a little. "Minato was kind of a neat freak—well not kind of; he was. That's why his seal is written in a neat line without any mistakes." Naruto was a little dumbfounded that his dad's seal was so simple; then again he didn't exactly know his father enough or at all to think it was surprising.

"What about the Second?" Naruto asked.

"The Second is also quite simple. To be honest, even Genma, Iwashi and my seal are not complicated at all. They are meant to be simple and basic. The Second Hokage's seal represents his clan: The Senju. He valued his clan very highly and loved everyone in it. Each and every member was part of his family" Raido said.

"I see" Naruto said. "Well I'm not sure what represents me. I'm not a neat freak and I don't know much about my family or clan."

"Don't worry about it right now" Raido started. "I just want you to think about it later on."

Naruto nodded. "Ok Raido Sensei, but I have a question" Naruto said. Raido nodded and gestured Naruto to speak. "What is your Flying Raijin Seal?" Naruto asked.

"Well since Iwashi, Genma and I can only use the jutsu together, we were all given a piece of the seal we created. Our seal is a triangle because there are three of us and we are a team. Each of us is given a corner of the triangle and once we connect them it becomes whole. Unbreakable" Raido said while smiling. "Anyways, that's pretty much it. Once you've decided on your seal design, we'll incorporate the original Flying Raijin Seal into it. For now let's head outside and start up your physical training" Raido said. Naruto nodded and got up from his chair and followed Raido outside.

* * *

Raido led them to where Iwashi was; it wasn't too far from the house. Raido stopped once they reached their destination and so did Naruto.

"Are you set up yet?!" Raido yelled to Iwashi who was searching through a pile full of ninja tools and scrolls.

"Yep!" Iwashi yelled back as he grabbed something from within the pile and pulled his hand out; it was a small package full of small papers with seals on them. There was also a neatly stacked pile of what looked like weights. Raido lead Naruto closer to where Iwashi was.

"So what are you guys teaching me today?" Naruto asked. Raido headed off to the side and sat down to let Iwashi take over.

"Well basically, nothing" Iwashi said while laughing a little.

"What do you mean nothing?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you what, if we have some time left over afterwards I'll teach you something ok" Iwashi said.

"Ok, and what are we doing right now?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to be putting Chakra Weights on you" Iwashi said. "Also I'm going to be applying Weight Seals on you."

"Is that it?" Naruto asked.

"Actually there's one more thing, but we'll leave that as a surprise for the end" Iwashi said while smiling.

"Ok Sensei" Naruto said, a little suspicious of his Sensei. Iwashi walked over to the neatly stacked pile of Chakra Weights and waved at Naruto to come over there. Naruto walked over to Iwashi and waited.

"Take off your jacket and Jounin flak jacket" Iwashi said. Naruto immediately responded by taking off his jacket and vest without questions. He was wearing a skin tight mesh t-shirt underneath his jacket. "Alright, first we'll put two on each of your forearms" Iwashi said as he grabbed Naruto's arm and straightened it. He put the weights on both of Naruto's forearms and made sure they were nice and tight before moving onto the leg weights. "Ok, next I want you to roll up you pants. I'm putting two Chakra Weights on your calves" Iwashi said as he sat on the ground. Naruto rolled his pants up to his knees and allowed Iwashi to apply both of the weights on his calves. Naruto's calf muscles were slightly built but not too much. Iwashi tied the weights and got up from the ground.

"What is the purpose of this anyway?" Naruto asked. "These weights will help improve my speed right? But if I become fast I won't even need to use the Flying Raijin."

"These Chakra Weights will help you when you use the jutsu" Iwashi said as he walked over to the package full of the Weight Seals. "The dimension in which you pass through when you use The Flying Raijin travels at a much faster time and speed than our world. Your body needs to be able to flow through without any hiccups otherwise you could end up hurting yourself while using the jutsu. You won't be wearing the weights for a very long time anyways so your speed shouldn't go up ridiculously."

"I see" Naruto said. "How fast does time move in that dimension anyways?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Let's see…" Iwashi said as he thought about it. Simultaneously he took four slips of paper out of the package. "About one day here should be….. Ten years there" Iwashi said. Naruto's eyes widened at the fact. Iwashi walked back to Naruto with the four slips of paper in his hand. "Alright, now it's time for the Weight Seals" Iwashi said as he pulled two out his hand and placed the other two on the ground. "I'm applying two of these on your wrists and two on your ankles." Naruto straightened his hand and allowed Iwashi to place the seal on his wrists. Iwashi carefully put the seals on Naruto's wrists and then formed a few hand seals. After going through a set of hand seals Iwashi put both of his palms on Naruto's wrists where he place the seals and channeled chakra through his palm. "Weight Seals: ACTIVATE!" Iwashi lightly shouted. He removed his hands from Naruto's wrist. The paper had disintegrated and the Weight Seal was now on Naruto's wrists. "Now the feet" Iwashi said as he sat on the ground and grabbed the two papers he put on the ground. He placed the Weight Seal papers on Naruto's ankles and repeated the same process. He rose up from the ground and dusted himself off with his hands. "I think we're done here" Iwashi said coolly.

"You haven't even told him how to calibrate the levels on the Chakra Weights or the Weight Seals" Raido said ruining Iwashi's cool moment.

"OY!" Iwashi yelled. "SHUT UP MAN! CAN'T YOU JUST LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT!"

"Hahaha!" Raido laughed from where he was sitting. "Come one Iwashi, don't be such a baby; at least not in front of our pupil."

"Fine, Whatever" Iwashi said turning his attention back towards Naruto who was grinning a little. "What are you grinning at" Iwashi said.

"Nothing" Naruto said still grinning. "I just haven't experienced moments like these a lot in my life." Iwashi was a little surprised at Naruto's answer. He wasn't in the village a lot during Naruto's childhood so he didn't know how the villagers treated him, but after Naruto's statement it was safe to say that he wasn't treated too well.

"Heh, well anyways let me explain how you calibrate the levels on the weights" Iwashi said. Naruto nodded. "For the Chakra Weights, all you have to do is channel some chakra into them and imagine them going one level up. The same thing if you want to push it down a level, except just imagine the level going down instead of up." Naruto nodded again indicating he understood. "Now for the Weight Seals: Perform the hand seals, Dog, Boar, and Horse and then touch the seal you want to calibrate. From there just push chakra into the desired seal to push it up however many levels you want. The only thing is that you can't pull it down any levels" Iwashi said. "So only set it to what I tell you to."

"Understood" Naruto said.

"Good, now I want you to set each of the Chakra Weights to Level 3 and each the Weight Seals to Level 2" Iwashi said. Naruto nodded and started focusing his chakra into the Chakra Weights. Naruto imagined the levels going up one by one on each weight: 1, 2, 3. Naruto immediately felt the weights pulling him down. He checked each weight to make sure they were set on the right level and then moved onto the Weight Seals. Naruto formed the hand seals Iwashi told him to use and then set each of the Weight Seals to Level 2: 1, 2. Once Naruto finished he could barely walk.

"Are you sure these are the levels you want me on right now?" Naruto asked fearing he wouldn't even be able to move, expecially after Iwashi's promised end surprise.

"Yep you should be fine. You'll get used to them don't worry" Iwashi said. "Now for the end surprise. Are you ready Naruto?" Iwashi asked with an evil smile that crept Naruto out a little.

"Sure Sensei, but what is this surprise?" Naruto asked.

"Oh don't worry" Iwashi started; his evil smile gone. "You'll really like it."

"Ok, but what is it?" Naruto asked once again.

"A Gravity Seal" Iwashi said. Naruto's eyes widened at Iwashi's words.

'A Gravity Seal' Naruto thought to himself. 'Dad's Gravity Seal?' He asked himself.

"Lord Jiraiya told me that he told you about one of your father's greatest creations" Iwashi said.

"How do you know it?" Naruto asked. "Even Jiraiya Sensei doesn't know it."

"Your dad taught it to me when I became his bodyguard; in fact he gave Genma and Raido something as well" Iwashi said, further piquing Naruto's curiosity.

"What did he teach Raido Sensei and Genma Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Ok first let me just tell you, your dad didn't just teach me the Gravity Seal he created. He taught me all of the Sealing Jutsu's he knew. That's what he gave me: His Sealing Techniques. He gave Raido all of his knowledge. Anything the Fourth Hokage knew, so did Raido. Lastly, he gave Genma his most prized ninjustsu's. I don't even the jutsu Minato taught Genma, and neither does Raido" Iwashi said.

"That's amazing" Naruto said, very impressed with his Sensei's.

"I know we're pretty cool right" Iwashi said with a badass look over his face. "Anyways, let's get back to reality now Naruto. I'm going to apply the seal to you now, but do you have any questions left?" Iwashi asked.

"Yeah I do" Naruto said. "You said that all of this is only to make my body be able to flow through the dimension that The Flying Raijin uses, but with the Gravity Seal, I'll become so fast I won't need it. I know you said that I won't be using the seals and weights for too long but even in a short amount of time the Gravity Seal will increase my speed greatly. Also, Jiraiya Sensei told me that my dad said that once you apply the Gravity Seal on yourself, it can never be removed, so what's the point of all this?"

"Well before I say anything Naruto, I'd like to know what you know about the Gravity Seal" Iwashi said.

"No one really knows anything about the Gravity Seal because nobody ever used it except for the Fourth Hokage, who never divulged any of the seals secrets or workings. But people have speculated that the seal forces the gravity around you to shift and restrict your movements. Eventually you would get used to the restriction and be able to move at regular speed. The gravity would increase around you restricting your movements even more repeatedly until you decide to stop at a certain level" Naruto explained. "This would result in a great speed boost when the user reduces the gravity level to 1."

"Well explained Naruto" Iwashi said making Naruto feel proud of himself. "But you're wrong." Naruto's feeling faded quickly after he heard his Sensei's words.

"If this isn't what the seals function is…then what is?" Naruto asked wondering what the seal was even intended for.

"I'll tell you" Iwashi said. "The Gravity Seal was created by Minato specifically for The Flying Raijin Jutsu. What the Gravity Seal does is increase the gravity's pressure around you, making the gravity around you a little bit higher than what your body is used to. But instead of increasing your speed by restricting your movements, the Gravity Seal is trying to destroy your body every second." Naruto was wide-eyed in shock at Iwashi's words. Iwashi continued. "The whole entire point of the seal was to make your body tougher because the dimension that The Flying Raijin Jutsu uses, as I told you, travels at a faster time and speed than ours. Your body must be prepared for the pressure of both the speed and time that dimension uses. Even if your passing through the dimension only for a second your body needs to be prepared, otherwise your body will slowly disintegrate. Once you have the Gravity Seal on it will automatically increase the Gravity Level when your body is ready for it. This is so that no one tries to be stupid and turn the Gravity Level to a something there body cannot withstand. Your body would be completely destroyed in mere seconds. You were right about one thing though. There is no way to remove the Gravity Seal once it is applied. There is however, a way to turn it off. Once I apply the seal onto you I'll show you the hand seals to turn it off for as long as you want. Once you want to turn it back on you do the same hand seals and the seal will reactivate." Iwashi finished his explanation and saw that Naruto had a very shocked and questioning look on his face; Iwashi laughed a little at the expression Naruto made.

"Wow, I can't believe people were that off about the seal's workings" Naruto said. "Anyways, I have one last question about the jutsu."

"Ask away" Iwashi said.

"Well you said that the dimension that The Flying Raijin Jutsu uses travels at a much faster time and speed than our world correct?" Naruto asked. Iwashi nodded. "You said that one day here equals ten years there. Also you said that if you don't prepare your body for the jutsu than your body will be slowly destroyed, so the one thing I want to ask is…How did the Second Hokage use the jutsu when things like the Gravity Seal didn't exist back then?" Naruto asked. Iwashi smiled.

"You're really a smart kid Naruto" Iwashi said. "I asked Minato the same thing when he taught me the Gravity Seal. He told me that when he did his research he found out that the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju was the only one out of his entire clan that used The Flying Raijin Jutsu; also back then the original name of the jutsu given by the Second Hokage was the Hiraishin Jutsu. The reason he was the only one able to use the jutsu was because his body was so tough and strong that he didn't have to go through the tough training that Genma, Raido, Minato and I had to go through. Not even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju could use this jutsu."

"Then if that's the case, I don't need this training. During my training with Jiraiya Sensei we trained my body as well as my other skills" Naruto said.

"I know all about your training. Lady Hokage gave us your data when we told her we were teaching you" Iwashi said. "I know the secret to your tough body Naruto. I read your mission report for the Jinchuuriki retrieval mission. During your fight with Itachi, he gave you a kick that should have easily broken your arm but it didn't. In fact, in Kakashi's report it said that you were completely unharmed, so I asked Lord Jiraiya about it and he told me.

* * *

FLASHBACK

"Lord Jiraiya" Iwashi started. "I read Naruto's mission report and I noticed something very odd."

"Yes, yes I know what you're getting at Iwashi. I suppose you should know since you're going to be teaching Naruto am I right?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes Lord Jiraiya" Iwashi replied.

"Naruto has a very original fighting style that he created during our training. During the first year of our training I took him to Mount Myoboku and taught him Sage Mode. When we left from there I told him about his heritage. Immediately after that I began teaching Naruto Minato's fighting style along with Kushina's, which he mastered wonderfully" Jiraiya said. "But one day during our training I noticed him mixing his mother and father's fighting style and adding his own touch to it. I didn't even know what to call it. It was amazing. It took me while to land a hit on him, but one day when we were training I really came at him and I landed a really hard punch in the middle of his chest. That's when I first saw Naruto use it in combat. Naruto was able to tweak the seal on his shoulder that stores his Sage Chakra so that he can release a small pulse of Sage Chakra whenever he wants. What Naruto does during battle is when someone lands a strong hit on him, he'll send a pulse of Sage Chakra through his body and let it boost his capabilities for a couple of seconds. So the hit doesn't affect him because the Sage Chakra boosts his defense power tremendously. It's quite amazing that he is able to do it" Jiraiya explained.

"That truly is amazing. He's just as ambitious as Minato, wouldn't you say" Iwashi said.

"Yes, that he is" Jiraiya replied.

FLASHBACK END

* * *

"It's quite smart that you thought of something like that Naruto. Kudos to you" Iwashi said. "But this cannot be used for the jutsu. You'd have to have Sage Mode active every time you wanted to teleport." Naruto didn't pout but was a little disappointed that his skill couldn't come in handy. "Don't stress over it Naruto" Iwashi said trying to cheer Naruto up. "On the plus side once your body is tougher your defenses will be even stronger in Sage Mode." Naruto realized that was true and cheered up.

"You're right Sensei" Naruto said.

"Alright, then let's put the seal on you now, shall we?" Iwashi asked. Naruto nodded in response. "Ok Naruto, I need you to take off your shirt" Iwashi said.

"Ok" Naruto said seriously; Iwashi wondered why. He took off his shirt to reveal a slightly toned body. Iwashi saw Naruto's body and was shocked. He saw a huge scar right beside his heart.

"Naruto, what happened there?" Iwashi asked. 'I know the villager's might've attacked him but this is insane' Iwashi thought to himself.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto said. Iwashi understood. He heard about Naruto's mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. "He just missed my heart. But the wound was so deep that even with the Nine Tail's healing ability this scar was left." Iwashi thought he should change the subject for now.

"Alright Naruto, I'm going to put the seal on you now" Iwashi said. Naruto nodded. "All I need you to do is to stand still. Do not move no matter what, understood?" Iwashi asked. Naruto nodded once again. Iwashi let out a small deep breath. He started going through a long series of hand seals. Seal markings appeared in a small circle around Naruto and Iwashi. The seal started moving continuously in a circle; it stopped when Iwashi stopped forming hand seals. Iwashi planted both of his hands on Naruto's chest and yelled: "GRAVITY SEAL: APPLY!" The seal markings in the circle flew onto Naruto's chest and started binding themselves around Naruto's entire torso. The seals burned brightly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed from the excruciating pain he was experiencing but he didn't move. The seals stopped circling Naruto's torso and their light died out as well. Iwashi took his hands off of Naruto to take a look at the finished product. The seal was purple in colour and looked like a rope. The seal looped around both sides of Naruto's torso, covering his back, chest and stomach.

"Looks good to me" Iwashi said, impressed with the finished seal. He looked at Naruto who gave a- thumbs up and then collapsed onto the ground.

"Ohhh maan, is it finally over" Raido said as he stretched. "You guys really love to chat don't you?" He asked rhetorically.

"I did exactly what you said. I explained how all of the seals and weights work" Iwashi replied. "Let's take him into the house now."

"Ok" Raido responded.

* * *

Iwashi picked up Naruto and followed Raido who picked up Naruto's clothes to the house. Once they got inside Iwashi took Naruto to the one room in the house and lied him down onto a small mattress there. He came back out and saw Raido sitting at the table; Naruto's clothes were on the counter. He joined Raido at the table.

"So what do you think of him?" Raido asked Iwashi.

"He really is a lot like Minato, yet you can tell he's his own person. He holds his own morals" Iwashi replied.

"Your right about that" Raido said. "So how long do you reckon it'll be before he wakes up?" Raido asked. "It took all of us…what maybe ten days?"

"Yeah, and it took Minato about two, so I'm going to say the same for Naruto. About two to three days" Iwashi replied. "What do you think?" Iwashi asked Raido.

"Hmmm" Raido thought for a couple of seconds. "I'll say maybe-

Raido was cut off by a noise from in front of him and from behind Iwashi.

"What are you guys talking about?" It was Naruto's voice. Iwashi turned around after he heard the voice and was shocked. Raido was wide-eyed. "How long was I out for?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto how the hell are you awake?!" Iwashi yelled out. Naruto was caught off guard by Iwashi's question.

"What do you mean Sensei?" Naruto asked back.

"Well Naruto" Raido responded this time. "The thing is that once the Gravity Seal has been applied it causes the person it has been applied on to pass out. Their body isn't used to the Gravity Seals functions yet, so it takes a few days to a couple of weeks for the body and mind both to become accustomed to the seal. It took Genma, Iwashi and I ten days before we woke up and it took Minato two days. You took barely five minutes before waking up" Raido explained. Naruto himself was surprised once he heard Raido's explanation.

"So what does it mean?" Naruto asked. "Is my body accustomed to the seal already?"

"I'm not sure but let's check" Raido responded. "Iwashi" He gestured at Iwashi to check the seal. Iwashi nodded and got up from his seat. He checked Naruto's chest to see if the Level number had appeared; it was there. The number 2 was written in dark black on the left side of Naruto's chest, where his heart is.

"It's fine" Iwashi said, relieving Naruto and Raido. Iwashi sat back down. Naruto checked where Iwashi was looking and saw the Number 2.

"Wait it says 2" Naruto said. "Shouldn't it be one?" He asked.

"No, Level 1 is our normal gravity, so it's fine" Iwashi responded.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!" The bell rang.

"Well, I guess we're done for today" Raido said as he got up from his chair. "You can grab your clothes from the counter; I'm going to go make sure we're clear to exit." Raido exited the house and Iwashi followed behind. Naruto went over to the counter and wore his clothes. He exited the house and went to the exit ladder where Iwashi was standing.

"That seal really hurt like a son of a bitch" Naruto said to Iwashi. Iwashi chuckled.

"I know, that's what I said when Minato put the seal on me" Iwashi said. "Oh yeah I forgot to tell you the hand signs to activate and deactivate the seal."

"What are they?" Naruto asked.

"The seals for activating and deactivating are the same. The hand signs are: Monkey, Rat, Dog and Ram. Okay?" Iwashi asked.

"Got it Sensei" Naruto answered.

"IT"S CLEAR!" Raido yelled from the top of the ladder.

"ALRIGHT, WE'RE COMING UP!" Iwashi and Naruto responded together. They both climbed the ladder up to the top. Raido was waiting outside. Iwashi exited first then Naruto followed behind. When everyone was outside Naruto activated the seal and the door disappeared, leaving the tree behind.

* * *

"Ok Naruto, this is where we part ways today" Raido said. "All I want you to do is think about what you want for your seal design." Naruto nodded. "Alright then, we'll see you tomorrow at the same time. If there are any changes in timing for tomorrow we'll let you know" Raido said as he body flickered away from the field.

"Later Naruto!" Iwashi said. Iwashi then body flickered away from the field as well.

"Bye Sensei" Naruto said as he body flickered away from the field as well.

Naruto landed at the edge of the training field. 'Damn' Naruto thought. 'That body flicker took a lot of effort. These weights are really pulling me down.' Naruto continued to push himself as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards the hospital; he remembered that he had to go and see Hinata after he was done his training.

* * *

Naruto was nearing the hospital. He could see that the window from where he left in the morning was still open. He decided to enter from there. Naruto climbed the side of the hospital until he was one floor away from the window. He leaped with all of his strength in an arch from the side of the building diving straight through the hospital window. He landed swiftly on his feet. "Hey there Hinata" Naruto said as he looked up at Hinata's bed to see her blushing slightly and pointing in front of her. Naruto looked at where Hinata was pointing to see the team members of Team Kurenai standing there.

"It seems that we've interrupted Naruto's surprise romantic visit to Hinata" Shino said in his monotone voice.

"WE'VE INTERRUPTED!" Kiba shouted. "HE INTERRUPTED OUR VISIT TO HINATA!" Akamaru barked in agreement with Kiba.

"Calm down Kiba" Kurenai said. She was a little surprised because this was the first time she was seeing him after three years. 'It looks like the kid grew up' Kurenai thought to herself. "Naruto Uzumaki" She started. "It's been three years." She smiled at Naruto. He smiled back.

"Hey Kurenai Sensei" Naruto said back.

"What kind of greeting is that" Kurenai said. She walked up to Naruto and hugged him. Everyone else in the room was surprised.

"Hey, wait a second" Kiba started. "What's going on? How do you even know Naruto that well?" Kiba asked. Kurenai and Naruto broke from there hug.

"Well Kurenai Sensei has known me since I was a boy" Naruto said. "She was one of my ninja guardians assigned by the Third Hokage. She told me that it was her right before I left to train. She saved my life when I was a boy." Everyone was quite surprised; even Shino.

"Let's not talk about that right now" Kurenai said. Naruto nodded in agreement. Kurenai noticed that Naruto was having trouble walking; she especially noticed how much effort he had to put into landing on his feet, instead of flat on his face. "Naruto, you seem to have trouble running and walking, am I right?" Kurenai asked, a little curious and worried.

"Oh, I've just started wearing weights for my training, that's why" Naruto said as he scratched his head sheepishly realizing he must've looked stupid putting so much effort into landing straight.

"Really" Kurenai said. "What kind of training is Kakashi putting you through now?" Kurenai laughed a little as she wondered what Kakashi was putting Naruto through; but then again, Naruto had just trained for three years nonstop with one of the Legendary Sanin.

"Actually Kakashi Sensei isn't teaching me right now" Naruto said. Naruto decided to change the subject not wanting to discuss his training. He shifted his attention towards Hinata. "Hey, Hinata" Naruto said with a smile. "How are you now?"

"I'm fine" Hinata said. "I was wondering where you went in the morning but I guess you were training right?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I train every morning" Naruto said. Kurenai noticed the tenderness that Naruto was speaking to Hinata with.

"So Naruto" Kurenai started. "You seem to have taken a liking to Hinata am I right?" She asked.

"Yes I have" Naruto said still looking at Hinata. Hinata began to blush a little. Kurenai was a little surprised.

"So when did this happen?" Kurenai asked referring to Naruto and Hinata's relationship.

"I told her when I got back from my first mission from the village after I got back" Naruto said. Hinata smiled. Kurenai was happy for them.

"Oy Naruto" Kiba started. "Don't you dare mess around with my teammate otherwise you're gonna get it." Naruto chuckled a little at Kiba's statement.

"Kiba I don't mean to sound like an arrogant prick but we both know that I'm stronger than you and you wouldn't even be able to lay a finger on me" Naruto said still laughing a little.

"SHUT UP!" Kiba yelled; he was angry. Kiba reached into his supply pouch and pulled out two red pills. He fed one to Akamaru and ate one himself. Naruto knew what was coming next. "MAN BEAST CLONE!" Kiba yelled as Akamaru transformed into a clone of him. "FANG OVER FANG" Kiba and Akamaru twisted in a tornado and headed in Naruto's direction. Naruto moved out of the way as Kiba and Akamaru attacked him. Kiba and Akamaru went right through the open window. Kiba smirked as he continued to drill through the air. "Shadow Clone Jutsu" Kiba said as a clone appeared in the air in front of him and Akamaru. The clone waited for Akamaru and Kiba to get near and then kicked them back towards the window. Naruto saw this and was a little surprised.

"Kiba can use Shadow Clones?" Naruto asked not worried even a little about Kiba's oncoming attack towards him.

"Yes Naruto" Shino answered simply. Kiba and Akamaru's duo attack drew nearer and nearer towards Naruto. Naruto formed a Rasengan in his hand and waited patiently.

"FANG OVER FANG" Kiba yelled once again as Naruto and his jutsu's clashed.

"Rasengan" Naruto said calmly as his Rasengan completely overpowered Kiba's Fang Over Fang. Kiba and Akamaru were about to be pushed out of the window when Naruto cancelled the jutsu and grabbed both of them and lightly set them back on the ground in the room. Kiba panted, completely out of breath.

'That was my strongest attack, and I put my all into it' Kiba thought to himself. 'He overpowered it like it was nothing.' Kiba sat up and leaned against the room's wall. He took Akamaru into his hands.

"Are you guys okay?" Naruto asked.

"We're fine" Kiba said. "I could've beaten you, but I just didn't feel like putting too much into my attack otherwise the hospital wouldn't even be here anymore." Naruto's expression changed to an angry one.

"Kiba, you are strong, but don't blame your defeat on such a petty excuse. Win like a man and lose like a man" Naruto said. Everyone in the room was wide eyed.

'Is this really the brat who would make an excuse at every one of his losses' Kurenai thought to herself; she smiled. Someone burst through the hospital door; it was a nurse.

"WHAT THE HELL HAS BEEN GOING ON IN HER?!" She yelled. "THIS IS A HOSPITAL NOT YOUR PLAYGROUND!"

"Heh, sorry there miss" Naruto said with his hands up, palms forward pleading for forgiveness.

"I'll let it slide, but I better not hear anything from this room again" Said the nurse. She left the room to continue her duties in the hospital.

"Anyways" Kurenai started getting everyone's attention. "We'll take our leave now Hinata." Kurenai gestured at Kiba and Shino to leave the room and she followed behind them. Kurenai closed the door as she left, wanting to give Naruto and Hinata some privacy.

"So…" Naruto started. "When are you going to be leaving from here?" He asked Hinata.

"Probably later today" Hinata replied. "Naruto" She started in a questioning voice, getting Naruto's complete attention. "You were really dodgy about the questions Kurenai Sensei asked you about your training. Why?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, well the truth is that I don't want to discuss my training with anyone yet. It's a surprise" Naruto said with a smile. Hinata looked confused.

"A surprise?" Hinata asked.

"As you probably already know" Naruto started seriously. "The Akatsuki threatened to destroy the Leaf Village in their next attack on us. We must be prepared for it or better yet, prevent it. Right now, I'm training to learn a jutsu that will greatly support us in our war against them."

"Oh" Hinata said finally understanding Naruto's secrecy. "Will you tell me Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"No" Naruto said, which surprised and disappointed Hinata. "It's not that I don't want to tell, but if the Akatsuki captured you again and they got information from your mind, they would prepare counter measures against the jutsu."

"Of course Naruto" Hinata said. "I completely understand." Both Hinata, and Naruto were interrupted before another word was said between them by the door opening. A ninja walked in.

"Is Naruto Uzumaki her?" The ninja asked.

"That would be me" Naruto said.

"The Hokage is calling you to her office; bring your ninja tools and supplies" The ninja said. After that the ninja puffed out of existence.

'Shadow Clone' Naruto thought. He turned his attention towards Hinata again. "I guess I have to leave Hinata" Naruto said. Hinata nodded and smiled.

"Goodbye Naruto" Hinata said. Naruto smiled back at her and dived through the window once again.

'Shit' Naruto thought. 'These weights are really pulling me down.' Naruto landed roughly on the ground and continued to walk to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower and went up to Tsunade's office. 'Thank god I already had my ninja tools from the morning' Naruto thought.

Naruto opened the door to Tsunade's office and saw Kakashi, and Sakura standing in front of Tsunade's desk along with another ninja that Naruto did not recognize. Kakashi saw Naruto enter and gave him a nodding greeting. Naruto went and stood beside Kakashi. Tsunade spoke.

"What's going on Sensei" Naruto lightly whispered to Kakashi as Tsunade was going through some paperwork.

"It's Sasuke" Kakashi whispered back. Naruto's eyes widened. Tsunade spoke.

"Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Yamato and Sakura Haruno" Tsunade started. "I am assigning you with the mission of retrieving Sasuke Uchiha and bringing him back to the Leaf Village. Team Leader will be Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi nodded. "It is up to you to choose your second and third in command" Tsunade said. "The rest you may explain to your team at the gates."

"Understood" Kakashi said. Before they left Naruto spoke to Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, please inform Raido Namiashi, Genma Shiranui and Iwashi Tatami that I'll be away on a mission for a few days" Naruto said. Tsunade nodded. Kakash then led the team outside of the Hokage Tower and to the front gates of the village.

* * *

Once everyone reached the gates Kakashi stopped them. "Okay everyone, as Lady Tsunade explained, this mission is the retrieval of Sasuke Uchiha" Kakashi said. "We've located one of Orochimaru's hideouts where Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto are located at. We got this information from the special organization within the Leaf Village: The Anbu Hidden Root Organization. My Second in command will be Yamato. Yamato you may introduce yourself." Yamato nodded.

"Hi everyone" Yamato started. "As you now know my name is Yamato. I am an Elite ranking Jounin and hope to have a great experience working with this team."

"Good" Kakashi said. "Now are there any questions before I we leave to Orochimaru's hideout."

"Where exactly is the hideout?" Sakura asked.

"Only I know that" Kakashi said. "And we're going to keep it that way." Sakura just nodded confusedly.

"I have a question" Naruto said. Kakashi gestured at Naruto to ask. "Do we have permission to kill?" Naruto asked with a plain and cold expression on his face.

"If necessary you are all authorized to use deadly force" Kakashi said. "But if you must, you can kill."

"So I can kill Sasuke if necessary?" Naruto asked with his same expression. This question surprised many except for Yamato who didn't know Naruto's history with Sasuke.

"Naruto you shouldn't act so tough" Sakura started. "We can't underestimate Sasuke's strength. If you became as strong as you are, then he's probably twice as strong." Naruto got very angry at Sakura's statement.

"Sakura, you really need to keep your dirty whore mouth shut" Naruto said. Kakashi was surprised at Naruto's language. "If you think your Sasuke's so strong now, we'll test his strength against mine…and then I'll kill him" Naruto said coldly.

"Calm down Naruto" Kakashi said. "I told you that you were authorized to use deadly force but the whole point of this mission is to bring back Sasuke." Kakashi understood Naruto's anger. When he rescued Naruto from the Valley of The End he saw the whole in his chest. "Now then, shall we?" Kakashi said. Everyone nodded and Kakashi led them away from the village.

"Lovely bunch of student's you have Kakashi" Yamato whispered to Kakashi as they walked forward. Kakashi smiled through his mask and continued walking forward.

"Hey Kakashi Sensei" Sakura started getting Kakashi's attention. "How long is the trip to the hideout?" She asked.

"It should be about a day to get there and a day to get back" Kakashi said. "We'll stop for camp before sunset." Everyone continued forward without another word.

* * *

It was nearing sunset when Kakashi stopped the team. "Alright guys" Kakashi started. "I think we should set up camp here." He pointed to where there was a small river flowing. "We can set up right before where the river starts." Naruto and Yamato made the tents while Sakura talked to Kakashi in private.

"Kakashi Sensei" Sakura started but was interrupted by Kakashi.

"I know what you're going to ask Sakura" Kakashi said. "Why Naruto hates Sasuke so much, right?"

"Yes" Sakura said.

"Why don't you ask him" Kakashi said to Sakura. Sakura nodded. She thought to wait until night before talking to Naruto.

* * *

It was night and Yamato and Kakashi went inside their tents to rest. Sakura went up to Naruto's tent to talk to him. She opened the tent to see Naruto lying on his sleeping bag; he was wearing a black t-shirt and his regular pants. Naruto got up when he saw Sakura enter.

"What the hell do want" Naruto asked Sakura.

"Naruto why do hate Sasuke so much?" Sakura asked. She thought not to beat around the bush and come straight to the point.

"He tried to kill me" Naruto said plainly.

"I know but Sasuke was angry then. All he wanted was power so that he could kill his brother" Sakura said trying to convince Naruto to forgive Sasuke.

"Just forget it Sakura" Naruto said. "You wouldn't understand. You weren't there."

"Please just help me to understand" Sakura pleaded.

"Just leave me the hell alone right now" Naruto said. "I need to be alone right now." Sakura left Naruto's tent and went into her own. Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto found himself standing in front of Nine Tails cage. "How the hell am I here" Naruto said out loud. Naruto was surprised because he didn't will himself here. He heard a loud growling noise coming from inside the cage. "Haha" Naruto laughed. "Are you snoring Nine Tails?"

"**HHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" **A loud growl emanated from within the cage. The force of it pushed Naruto back a little.

"Jeez, calm down" Naruto said. "You don't have to get angry." Naruto heard footsteps coming towards him from the cage. Something was coming out of the cage. It was about the same size at Naruto except it was completely dark and red. It had six tails coming out of its back. Naruto got into a defensive stance. "Who are you?" Naruto asked the evil looking monster. It didn't reply. 'How is this possible' Naruto thought to himself. 'The only people who can be in here are The Nine Tails and I.' The Nine Tails appeared inside the cage.

"**What's wrong Naruto?"** The Nine Tails asked Naruto. **"You look surprised. Don't you know who this is?"**

"What are you talking about Nine Tails?" Naruto asked. "Do you know what that thing is?"

"**Naruto, this is you"** The Nine Tails said, shocking Naruto.

"I don't have time for your games Nine Tails" Naruto said.

"**I already explained to you Naruto. You must defeat your true self. Only then will you be truly at peace. Only then will you be able to use my power."**

"What do you mean my true self?!" Naruto shouted. "You can't seriously be saying that's me!"

"**This is you Naruto" **The Nine Tails repeated. Another voice came from within the cage. Naruto searched for the location of the sound and saw a man standing beside Nine Tails.

"Oh well this is just a freakin party isn't it!" Naruto yelled out.

"Calm down Naruto" The mystery man said. "Just follow Kurama's instructions." Naruto couldn't see how the man looked because of the darkness covering him. All Naruto could see were his eyes, which were glowing purple and had rings inside them.

"Who's Kurama?" Naruto asked.

"**That is my true name Naruto"** The Nine Tails said. Naruto was surprised and felt a little stupid.

'Of course the Nine Tails has a name' Naruto thought. 'So it's Kurama.' "How do I defeat my true self?" Naruto asked still a little confused at the situation.

"That is for you to figure out" The mystery man said. "Kurama and I will guide you but you must fulfill your part as well. Now it is time for you to leave." The creature with six tails that the mystery man and Kurama called Naruto's true self dashed towards Naruto. Naruto found that he couldn't move once again, just like last time. The creature moved closer and closer until it leaped into the air and slammed its claws through Naruto's chest piercing Naruto's heart.

* * *

Naruto woke up in his tent; he was sweating heavily. He turned to look beside him to see Yamato and Kakashi there.

"Naruto are you okay?!" Kakashi asked. "You've been yelling and screaming the entire night! We couldn't get you to wake up!"

"I'm fine Kakashi Sensei" Naruto said as he wiped the sweat off of himself. Naruto exited the tent to see Sakura standing behind Kakashi and Yamato.

"Are you sure you're okay Naruto?" She asked.

"I said I'm fine Sakura" Naruto said. He walked to the river and splashed the cold water on his face. He went back to his tent and put his Jounin vest, jacket and leaf headband on. He exited his tent and began folding it up.

Once Naruto folded the tent he handed it to Kakashi who sealed it into a storage scroll.

"Alright, we'll be heading out now" Kakashi said as he gathered the remaining supplies. The team moved out without another question.

* * *

Team Kakashi was travelling through a small forest: Kakashi and Yamato in the front, Naruto in the back and Sakura in the middle. "Hey Tenzou" Kakashi said to Yamato.

"Kakashi, please refrain from using that code name, in front of the team. My code name for this mission is Yamato" Yamato said.

"Ok Yamato" Kakashi said. "I want you to keep a close eye on Naruto for me." Kakashi whispered this time.

"Why?" Yamato asked.

"I think the Nine Tails might be interfering with Naruto's abilities right now" Kakashi whispered. "So just in case I want you to keep an eye on him. You're the only one who can stop him from transforming into the Nine Tailed Fox." Yamato nodded and they continued on.

Kakashi signaled Yamato, Naruto and Sakura to stop after about an hour of jumping through the forest; everyone stopped. Kakashi turned around and explained the situation. "Okay, about 100 meters ahead of us is the hideouts entrance" Kakashi said. "Naruto before we head in I need you to use your Sage Mode to check how many chakras are present in the hideout." Naruto sent out a pulse of his Sage Chakra and felt the presence of three chakras; he recognized all three.

"I sense three chakras Kakashi Sensei" Naruto said. "I recognize all of them. One of them belongs to Kabuto. The second one belongs to Orochimaru, and the third… belongs to Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto's expression was so cold and plain that it scared Sakura.

"Ok good" Kakashi said. "Where are they located exactly?"

"They're chakras are all gathered at the same place. It's should be on the east side of the building" Naruto said. "Once we get closer I'll check to see if they're inside or outside." Kakashi led his team closer to the hideout.

"All right Naruto is that close enough for you?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded. Naruto sent out another pulse of chakra and sensed all three of the chakras on the roof of the hideout. Naruto pointed towards the roof of the building instead of speaking. Kakashi nodded and signaled the team to slowly climb to the top.

Once they reached the top Kakashi was about to peak his head out to see if he could see them but Naruto stopped him. "They already know we're here" Naruto said. Kakashi sighed.

"Alright let's just climb onto the roof then" Kakashi said. The team climbed onto the roof to see Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke standing at edge of the right side of the hideout. They were all looking straight at Team Kakashi. Orochimaru and Kabuto were wearing the same outfit Naruto saw them in three years ago but Sasuke was now wearing a long sleeve open front white shirt. He was wearing black ninja pants and black ninja boots. Sasuke had a sword and his hair had gotten slightly longer. Team Kakashi body flickered near Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto so that they were all only at a few meters distance. Kakashi spoke: "Sasuke Uchiha. We are here to bring you back to the Leaf Village" Kakashi said. Orochimaru and Kabuto smirked.

"Don't tell me you guys are still stuck on that?" Sasuke said in a cold voice.

"Sasuke please come back to the Leaf" Sakura pleaded. Sasuke gave her a dead stare and activated his Sharingan.

"I'm not going to come back with you so you're either going to have to leave or force me to come with you" Sasuke said. "You think you have it in you." Sasuke gazed at the entire group in front of him until his eyes landed on Naruto. Naruto gave Sasuke a cold stare right into his Sharingan. "Is that you Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto didn't respond. Sasuke body flickered right in front of Naruto face to face. Sasuke put his arm around Naruto and spoke. "Didn't you want to become Hokage Naruto? Your time would've been better spent training rather than chasing me. I have no intention of coming back Naruto, and I doubt you're strong enough to bring me back by force" Sasuke said. Naruto smirked.

"Don't be so sure about that Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto said. "I wasn't wasting any of my time on you." Sakura interrupted then.

"Sasuke, please come back" Sakura pleaded once again. Kabuto and Orochimaru just watched the scene take place. Kakashi and Yamato watched Orochimaru and Kabuto like hawks. "Come back to the people who care for you. We're your friends; doesn't that bond mean anything to you?" Sakura asked, tears almost coming out of her eyes.

"No" Sasuke replied.

"You're lying!" Sakura shouted. "Otherwise you would've killed Naruto at The Valley of The End." Sasuke smiled.

"I left Naruto alive, simply on a whim" Sasuke said. "But I think I'm going to kill Naruto now…simply on a whim I have." Sasuke reached for his sword and slowly drew it out. The light reflected off the tip of it. He went to swing it down on Naruto's neck. Naruto stood there without saying a word or moving an inch. Kabuto and Orochimaru saw that Kakashi and Yamato were about to attack Sasuke, so they grabbed both of the Jounins and engaged in their own separate battles with them. Sakura continued to stand there watching Sasuke about to execute Naruto. Sasuke swung his sword down fast and it connected with Naruto's neck; it didn't cut him.

"Your sword seems to be a tad dull…Sasuke" Naruto said as he opened his eyes to reveal his Sage Mode active. Sasuke was surprised that his sword didn't cut Naruto.

"I guess I'll just have to make it sharper" Sasuke said coolly as he focused on his sword. Sasuke's sword began to light up. "LIGHTNING SWORD!" Sasuke shouted as he streamed lighting through his sword. Sasuke pulled his sword back up and swung it back down at Naruto's neck; Sasuke's sword hit Naruto once again. It didn't cut him, once again. "It seems you have improved Naruto" Sasuke said.

"I told you" Naruto started. "I didn't waste my time chasing you." Naruto's neck was being protected by a barrier of wind chakra. "I got smarter and stronger. So if I'm right…Wind beats Lighting every time" Naruto said as he kicked Sasuke away from himself and grabbed Sakura and gathered some distance between the two of them.

"Thuah" Sasuke spit blood out of his mouth. 'His kick shouldn't be that powerful' Sasuke thought.

Naruto put Sakura down. "Sakura, I want you to stay here. Don't interrupt my battle otherwise you might get hurt" Naruto said to Sakura. Sakura nodded and went off to watch his battle.

'I really am useless' Sakura thought to herself. 'I couldn't even convince Sasuke to come back and I'm not strong enough to help fight with Naruto.'

* * *

Naruto readied himself for his fight. 'With these weights and this Gravity Seal I'm going to have a tough time fighting, but Sage Mode should compensate for that for the moment' Naruto thought to himself.

Sasuke removed his shirt and readied himself with his sword in his hand. "Bring it on Naruto!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto; Naruto smiled.

* * *

On the side, Kakashi and Kabuto were fighting fiercly against each other. Kabuto's special offensive medical ninjutsu techniques were being nullified by Kakashi's Double Lightning Blade. "This will go on forever Kabuto" Kakashi said as he lunged to pierce Kabuto. Kabuto dodged to the side and tried to strike Kakashi's leg to paralyze him. Kakashi dashed backwards, barely dodging Kabuto's attack.

"Actually" Kabuto started. "I think this will be over quite quickly." Kabuto ran towards Kakashi and tried to attack Kakashi's chest to stop his heart. His hand almost connected with Kakashi's chest when Kakashi chopped Kabuto's hand right off with his Lightning Blade. Kabuto immediately retreated back, trying to gain some distance.

"I'll say it again" Kakashi started. "This battle shouldn't last too long."

* * *

In the middle of the hideout there was a small area on the ground where Yamato and Orochimaru were fighting. "So do you remember me Orochimaru, you snake!" Yamato shouted to Orochimaru.

"I can't say that I do" Orochimaru said as he stretched his neck and lunged towards Yamato at a fast speed. Yamato smirked and made a hand sign.

"Wood Style: Threefolded Wood Shield" Yamato said as he formed a shield of wood. Orochimaru's head hit the shield and was knocked back. Orochimaru pulled his head back to his body; he licked his lips.

"So you're one of my experiments" Orochimaru said with a creepy smile. "I didn't think anyone survived."

"Well I did" Yamato said. "And I'm going to kill you." Orochimaru licked his lips again.

"Keh, keh" Orochimaru laughed. "How do you kill someone who is immortal?" Orochimaru asked rhetorically.

"Like this!" Yamato yelled. "Wood Style: Wood Clones." Multiple wood clones formed around Yamato. "Wood Style: Partial Transformation." Each of the clones' arms transformed into wood and stretched forward towards Orochimaru at a fast speed. Orochimaru didn't have time to dodge and the all of the clones' wooden arms connected with Orochimaru's head and smashed it. Yamato and all of his clones retracted their arms and they transformed back to normal. A weird liquid poured out of Orochimaru's body. Orochimaru's body came out of the liquid and it didn't have a single scratch.

"That was quite the attack" Orochimaru said. "Sadly I cannot use my jutsu because of your damn Third Hokage, otherwise you would be dead right now. All I can say now is goodbye." Orochimaru dashed to where Kabuto was and grabbed him. "It's time to leave Kabuto" Orochimaru said.

"What about Sasuke?" Kabuto asked.

"He'll be back after he's done" Orochimaru said. Kabuto nodded and made some hand seals. Kabuto and Orochimaru slowly burned away until both of them were gone.

* * *

Yamato jumped onto the roof and joined Kakashi.

"We should go and help Naruto" Yamato said. Kakashi nodded and they body flickered to where Naruto was fighting.

* * *

Sasuke formed some hand seals and shouted: "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" A giant fireball headed in Naruto's direction. Naruto smirked.

'I can't use this jutsu to its full potential but Sage Mode should make it strong enough' Naruto thought. Naruto formed some hand seals and shouted: "Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" A huge amount of fire appeared and clashed with Sasuke's fireball. It easily overwhelmed Sasuke's fireball and continued towards Sasuke. Kakashi and Yamato landed beside Sakura who was watching Naruto and Sasuke fight. All three of them were shocked at the size and power of Naruto's jutsu.

'Shit' Sasuke thought. 'I can't overpower his jutsu. How the hell did he learn something like this? I'll have to dodge this.' Sasuke dodged the jutsu and dashed towards Naruto. Naruto pulled out a kunai knife and charged it with wind chakra. Sasuke charge his sword with lightning and clashed with Naruto. Naruto's kunai and Sasuke's sword connected creating sparks that flew like fireworks. Naruto poured more chakra into his kunai and cut right through Sasuke's sword like it was butter. Sasuke barely dodged Naruto wind charged kunai; Naruto slightly nicked Sasuke's side with the kunai. They both gained some distance and planned out their next attacks.

'This is too easy' Naruto thought to himself. 'I should still keep my guard up just in case.'

'I need to get past his wind techniques' Sasuke thought. 'How the hell did Naruto get so strong over the past three years? I might be forced to use my ultimate jutsu.' Sasuke glared at Naruto, and Naruto glared back; there eyes meeting.

'Shit' Naruto thought, but it was too late. Naruto's vision started blurring and his world began twisting and changing until he was standing in front of the gate that held the Nine Tails. 'Well this should be fun' Naruto thought. Sasuke appeared beside Naruto.

* * *

"So this is where you gained all of your power" Sasuke said. "I knew you didn't have the potential to become that strong without a shortcut." Naruto ignored Sasuke's words and saw a pair of red eyes glaring through the darkness behind the gate.

"Sasuke, you should have picked a different place then my mind" Naruto said; he grinned.

"And why's that?" Sasuke asked as he stared coldly at Naruto.

"Because in your mind you would've been able to control everything, but you underestimated me" Naruto said. "You thought that you would be able to use the Nine Tailed Fox sealed within me, against me. You were wrong. Over here, you have no control" Naruto said as the bars on the gate started melting away until there was no gate at all. Kurama appeared from within the gate and walked up to Sasuke. Without saying a word or allowing Sasuke to react Kurama grabbed with his mouth and started ripping him to shreds.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed in agony. Soon he disappeared from Naruto's mind leaving Kurama and Naruto the only ones there. Then the Kurama that ripped Sasuke into pieces disappeared.

"Thank you" Naruto said as the gate reappeared. "Even if you're only helping so that you don't end up dying with me." Naruto heard a short growl from behind the gate and he smiled. Naruto faded out of his mind.

* * *

Naruto snapped back to reality and saw the expressions on Kakashi, Yamato and Sakura's faces. He knew he was in the genjutsu for at least a good minute. Naruto saw Sasuke was slightly shaking from what he saw.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "I'll end this." Sasuke formed some hand seals and shouted: "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu" Fire came out of the ground beneath Naruto and Sasuke and flew up towards the sky.

'What is he trying to do?' Naruto thought to himself. It started to rain then. Sasuke smirked like he knew he was going to win as the rain continued to pour onto the ground. Thunder cries could be heard from the sky. Sasuke raised his hand up and relaxed his body. Kakashi was watching Sasuke the whole time with his Sharingan. He could see that the lightning from the sky was being attracted to Sasuke's hand.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi shouted getting Naruto's attention. "Sasuke is going to use the sky's lightning to strike you. You must be quick" Kakashi said worrying for Naruto. 'Has Sasuke tamed lightning' He thought. Sasuke continued showing his smirking expression as lightning shot down from the sky and connected with his hand. A steady stream of lightning was being connected to Sasuke. The lightning started transforming in the sky. It took the shape of a dragon-like creature. Sasuke began laughing.

"HAHAHA!" Sasuke laughed. "THIS IS THE END NARUTO!" Naruto ignored Sasuke's words and created a Shadow Clone.

* * *

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Naruto said, and a clone puffed into existence beside him. "You know what to do" Naruto said to his clone who immediately understood. "This attack will use all of our Sage Chakra" The clone said to Naruto. Naruto nodded, indicating he knew the consequences. "I'll end the fight with this last attack" Naruto said to Sasuke.

"Haha" Sasuke laughed one last time. "No Naruto. I'll end this fight with my attack." The lightning finished transforming into the creature. It was humongous, hovering above in the sky.

"We're going to have to try out the next step" Naruto said to his clone after seeing Sasuke's attack. The clone nodded and began forming something in Naruto's hand.

* * *

"I'll end this Naruto" Sasuke said. "KIRIN" Sasuke shouted. It sounded as if the lightning was crying out its own name from the noise it was making; but the noise created by Kirin was covered up by the sound coming from Naruto's jutsu. Naruto raised his hand above his head.

* * *

"Wind Style: Giant Rasenshuriken" Naruto said. Naruto was holding a giant shuriken shaped Rasengan that was spinning wildly and was emanating a screeching sound from it. The size of the jutsu was jaunting. "Like I said Sasuke" Naruto started. "Wind beats lightning…every time." Sasuke swung his hand down and the lightning creature move down at just near light speed. At the same moment Sasuke swung his hand down, Naruto threw his jutsu straight towards Sasuke instead of at his jutsu. At the moment Naruto threw his Giant Rasenshuriken, he body flickered next to Kakashi, Yamato and Sakura and got one of his clones to grab Yamato as he grabbed both Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto and his clone body flickered away from the hideout. As they moved away from the hideout Kakashi and Sakura saw Naruto's jutsu expand to become even larger and create a gigantic explosion that covered almost the entirety of the hideout. Naruto landed on the ground near where the forest that lead back to the Leaf started. He put his team member's down and watched as the explosion took its course.

"Naruto" Kakashi started. "You did it." Sakura and Yamato were confused and didn't understand what Kakashi meant, but Naruto did.

"Yeah" Naruto said. "I did it."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"That jutsu that Naruto just used" Kakashi started but decided to let Naruto take over. "Naruto, will you explain?" Naruto nodded.

"The jutsu I just used; Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, advances on the original Rasengan" Naruto said with a proud look on his face.

"So what's so special about that?" Sakura asked. Kakashi was shocked at Sakura's question.

"Sakura do you know the history of the Rasengan?" Kakashi asked. Sakura shook her head.

"The creator of the Rasengan is the Fourth Hokage, who is also Naruto's father" Kakashi said. "When he originally created the Rasengan he intended to add an elemental change in the jutsu as well: So something like adding fire, water, lightning, wind, or earth, but he was never able to. It was said to be impossible" Kakashi said.

"Why's that" Sakura asked. Naruto answered this time.

"It's because, the Rasengan itself is purely based on shape manipulation" Naruto said. "But because of the raw form of the Rasengan, and since it was purely created using shape manipulation, adding an elemental change to it would be impossible. It's like trying to look both ways at once. It takes too much focus" Naruto said. Sakura looked confused; which was a first.

"Then how did you do it?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura do you never observe" Naruto said. "Honestly you're becoming more stupid every day. I used my Shadow Clone to split the work with me. I would create the Rasengan and my clone would add and stabilize the Wind Chakra."

"Oh now I understand" Sakura said.

"It's ingenious" Kakashi said. 'Only you would be able to pull something like that off Naruto' Kakashi thought. Naruto smiled proudly once again.

* * *

The explosion began to settle down and it stopped raining. The sky became clear again, and the sun appeared.

* * *

"Alright let's go and check the remains" Naruto said as he walked into what was left of the hideout. Everyone followed behind. The entire hideout had caved in on itself and crumbled into small rocks during the explosion. Naruto saw scales in a pile of rubble. "There" Naruto said as he pointed towards the giant pile of rubble that snaked around what was left of the hideout. Naruto jumped and skipped over the rubble until he reached his destination. Naruto called Kakashi over and they both lifted the small boulders and rocks off of what looked like used to be a snake. Naruto took a closer look at its head to see if he recognized it. "Kakashi Sensei, it's Manda" Naruto said as he looked at the head of the snake. "It looks like Sasuke must've summoned it at the last second to protect himself from my jutsu. That's why it took me a second to identify the body. I'm sure if we cut it open we'll find Sasuke."

"Who's Manda?" Sakura asked. Naruto allowed Yamato to answer her question.

"Manda was Orochimaru's summoning snake" Yamato explained. "Orochimaru must've made Sasuke sign the Snake Summoning Contract." Sakura nodded indicating that she understood.

"Alright Kakashi Sensei, cut him open" Naruto said.

Kakashi nodded and formed a Lightning Blade in his hand and started cutting out the belly of the giant snake. Kakashi removed the skin to reveal Sasuke lying unconscious inside. His body was very bruised but the snake shielded him from most of the attack that came from Naruto's jutsu. Sakura ran up to the snake and grabbed Sasuke's body from within it and started hugging it; she began crying.

"Naruto" Sakura started while crying. "You could've killed Sasuke. How could you be so heartless? I can't believe you!" Sakura said. Naruto had a pissed off expression on his face.

"I'm heartless?" Naruto asked. He took off his jacket and Jounin vest. "You want to know what's heartless." Naruto said as he took off his t-shirt. "This" Naruto said as he pointed to the giant scar on his heart. Yamato and Sakura were both surprised by the scar.

"What the hell is that Naruto?" Sakura asked still hugging Sasuke.

"Your beloved Sasuke gave me this parting gift at our final fight at The Valley of The End" Naruto said with an angry expression on his face.

"He didn't mean it Naruto!" Sakura shouted at Naruto. "He didn't know what he was thinking. Now we can bring Sasuke back to the village and be a team again. Everything will go back to normal, I promise" Sakura said; Naruto's expression change from anger to a hateful one.

"You're still taking his side" Naruto said. "After everything he did to me. After what he did to you. After what he did to the village. He betrayed his teammates and the Leaf Village, Sakura! To me Sasuke Uchiha is a man who is no longer my friend or my teammate. I would kill him without a moment's hesitation if I wasn't restricted by the village's orders" Naruto said in a dark, cold voice. Sakura cried even more.

"Naruto, I can't believe you would say that!" Sakura shouted. Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"I thought I would give you a chance Sakura" Naruto started. "You really looked like you cared for me as a friend but I was wrong! You're just like the Sakura from three years ago: In love with Sasuke Uchiha and always hating on me; Naruto Uzumaki, The monster brat, The Nine Tailed Fox kid." Kakashi decided to intervene before things got worse.

"Okay Naruto" Kakashi started stepping in front of Naruto, blocking Sakura from his sight. "I understand why you feel how you do right now, but you need to calm down. Sasuke will pay for his crimes against the Leaf Village. Right now we need to take him back to the village in one piece, understood?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded. "Good" Kakashi said to Naruto. Kakashi walked over to Yamato. Naruto saw Sakura healing Sasuke's bruises and cuts. Naruto walked over to Sakura and kneeled down to where she was sitting. He grabbed her hand.

"Don't heal him" Naruto said. "Let him suffer a little bit of the pain I did." Naruto looked coldly at Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura tried to break free from Naruto's hold on her but couldn't.

"You really are a monster…Naruto" Sakura said to Naruto. Naruto snapped right there. It was too much for him. He gripped Sakura's hand even stronger and pushed it back; he snapped her wrist back.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Sakura screamed from the pain she was feeling. Kakashi ran over immediately and had Yamato take Naruto away from the area for the moment. Naruto grabbed his clothes before he left. Kakashi took out his emergency medical kit and tied a temporary brace on Sakura's wrist to hold it straight. "Oh god it hurts Sensei!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura just calm down" Kakashi said. "Lady Tsunade will fix your wrist as soon as we get back to the village. I know you can't fix broken bones in one go yet." Yamato came back to where Kakashi, Sakura and the unconscious Sasuke were.

"He wanted to be alone" Yamato said to Kakashi. Kakashi nodded at Yamato.

"I want you to seal Sasuke in one of your wood prisons" Kakashi said. Sakura had calmed down a little and heard wood prisons. She wondered what it was. Yamato nodded at Kakashi and formed some hand seals.

"Wood Style: Wood Prison" Yamato said as a tight wood cage like prison boxed around Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened. Yamato topped of the prison with a small sealing tag. "There" Yamato said. "He'll be asleep for about 24 hours."

"Yamato Sensei" Sakura said catching Yamato's attention. "How can you use Wood Style?"

"Oh, that" Yamato said. "Well I prefer not to discuss it but I suppose I can tell you. Orochimaru experimented on my body with the First Hokage's DNA. I was the only test subject that survived; ever since then I can use Wood Style" Yamato said. Sakura nodded and allowed Kakashi to speak then.

"Ok now we're going to head back to the village" Kakashi said. "There will be no stops this time. We'll be there in a half a day if we move at a fast pace." Yamato and Sakura nodded. Kakashi left them to go and check up on Naruto. Naruto was sitting on a small boulder just chucking rocks at the air. "Are you okay Naruto?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded, indicating he was fine. "Good" Kakashi said. "We're heading back now; no stops. While we're heading back I want you to stay at the back of the formation okay?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded once again. "Alright let's go then" Kakashi said as he walked to the entrance of the forest. Yamato brought Sasuke and Sakura and arrived at the forest as will. Naruto stood beside Kakashi with an emotionless expression on his face. Sakura tried to avoid eye contact. "Alright let's move" Kakashi said, and without another word he jumped onto a tree and started moving forward. Yamato, Sakura and Naruto followed behind.

* * *

As Team Kakashi was jumping through the tree tops Kakashi started whispering to Yamato again. "Hey Yamato" Kakashi called, trying to get Yamato's attention. Yamato nodded.

"What is it Kakashi?" Yamato asked.

"Something's wrong with Naruto" Kakashi said.

"I agree" Yamato said. "And I'm keeping my eye on him like you told me to. I think that he's most vulnerable right now to transforming into the Nine Tails."

"No that's what the problem is" Kakashi started. "With the incident that just occurred between Naruto and Sakura and his and Sasuke's fight, the Nine Tails chakra should already be starting to pour out of him. The Nine Tails manipulates Naruto's emotions and tricks Naruto into taking his chakra, but during Naruto's and Sasuke's fight I saw something entirely different with my Sharingan."

"What did you see?" Yamato asked, curious.

"Sasuke put Naruto under a genjutsu and Naruto was able to break out of it" Kakashi said.

"What's so odd about that?" Yamato asked.

"The Nine Tails' chakra leaked out of Naruto for less than a second at that moment but I saw it. It was very unlike the chakra I saw three years ago" Kakashi said. "This chakra was completely pure and free of any evil. That doesn't make any sense to me."

"I don't think Naruto even noticed it himself Kakashi" Yamato said. "Don't stress out too much over this. The Nine Tails was trying to protect itself. If Naruto dies, it dies along with him." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"You're probably right" Kakashi said, deciding to forget about it. Everyone continued forward in silence.

* * *

It was about midday as Team Kakashi entered through the front gates of the Leaf Village. The gate guards saw that they were back and greeted them

"Hey you guys are back!" Kotetsu exclaimed. "How was your mission?" He asked.

"It was a success" Kakashi said as he pointed towards the wooden prison Sasuke was contained in. Kotetsu's expression changed to a surprised one.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Kotetsu said. "So you brought him back, finally."

"Who defeated him?" Izumo asked.

"What does that matter?" Kotetsu asked Izumo.

"Sasuke Uchiha is listed as an A-Class Criminal in the Bingo Book" Izumo said. "So who was it Kakashi?" He asked once again.

"Naruto defeated Sasuke" Kakashi said as he pointed at Naruto who still had the same expressionless look on his face.

"Wow Naruto" Izumo said. "You're probably really strong if you defeated Sasuke." Naruto didn't reply and continued walking forward.

"Sorry about that" Kakashi said. "Naruto's not really feeling well and he's really tired. We didn't stop for camp, that's probably why." Izumo just waved it off.

"It's alright Kakashi" Izumo said. "Why don't you guys just head to the Hokage Tower and report in." Kakashi nodded and continued forward.

* * *

Team Kakashi entered the Hokage Tower and went into the Tsunade's office. The entire team entered the office and Tsunade notice the person in the wooden prison. "So your mission was a success?" Tsunade asked. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Yes M'Lady" Sakura said. Tsunade smiled back at her. She was happy for her protégé.

"Well done" Tsunade said as she called in some ninja's to take Sasuke into a proper prison cell with the proper restrictions on it. "For now Sasuke will be in the underground prison pending the council meeting" Tsunade said.

"Of course Lady Tsunade" Sakura said. "I completely understand."

"Now then" Tsunade started. "Naruto and Sakura, you may leave. Kakashi and Yamato, you will give me a short mission briefing right now." Sakura nodded and left the room. Naruto walked to the door and was about to leave when Tsunade's voice stopped him. "I'm very happy for you Naruto" Tsunade said. "You finally got your best friend and teammate back. Also Raido, Genma and Iwashi told me to tell you to meet them tomorrow at the same place and the same time." Naruto slammed the door behind him as he left. Tsunade was surprised by Naruto's actions.

* * *

"I'll explain" Kakashi said getting Tsunade's attention. Kakashi went on to explain everything that happened during the mission and Naruto's actions towards Sasuke and Sakura. Tsunade was wide eyed in shock.

"I can't believe Naruto did that" Tsunade said referring to him breaking Sakura's wrist. "I'll immediately take care of that myself. I truly did not know that Naruto's feelings for Sasuke as a teammate had changed so drastically."

"Yes it's true" Kakashi said. "If Sasuke didn't summon Manda to take his place at the last second, he would've been destroyed by Naruto's jutsu."Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you may take your leave now" Tsunade said to Kakashi and Yamato. They both nodded and body flickered out of the room.

* * *

Naruto was walking through the streets and decided to head to Hyuuga compound to meet Hinata.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the compound and was greeted by the same guard who smiled when he saw him. "Naruto Uzumaki, right?" The guard asked Naruto.

"Yes, and you are Ko Hyuuga, correct?" Naruto asked the guard. The guard named Ko nodded.

"Are you here to meet Lady Hinata?" Ko asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yes I am" Naruto said. Ko gestured at Naruto to enter the compound. Ko led Naruto to Hinata's room. Once they arrived at Hinata's room Ko left him to speak with Hinata alone.

* * *

Naruto entered Hinata's room to see her sitting at her desk. Hinata turned around when she heard her door open. Her expression became very happy when she saw that it was Naruto. She got up and hugged Naruto. She realized something was wrong when Naruto didn't hug her back.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Hinata asked as she broke from their hug. Naruto didn't respond for a second; his expression became very painful. A tear travelled down Naruto's face. Hinata was surprised at what was happening. "Naruto what happened?" Hinata asked once again.

"Am I…a monster?" Naruto asked plainly.

"What? No" Hinata said. "Of course not Naruto. What made you think this?"

"During my mission to retrieve Sasuke, Sakura sided with Sasuke instead of me" Naruto said. "She said I was being too unfair and hateful to Sasuke. Even after I showed her what Sasuke did to me she never left his side. She even tried to heal him and care for him. I got so angry that I grabbed the hand she was healing him with and snapped it." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Oh my god Naruto" Hinata said. She grabbed Naruto and sat him down on her chair. "It's okay Naruto. Sakura shouldn't have sided with Sasuke. What did Sasuke do to you that you showed Sakura?" Hinata asked. Naruto got up from the chair and took off his jacket, Jounin vest and t-shirt to reveal his seals and the scar on his heart.

"Sasuke pierced through my chest three years ago at The Valley of The End" Naruto said. "He just missed my heart." Hinata was shocked that Sakura still sided with Sasuke after seeing this. "Before I snapped her wrist, she called me a monster" Naruto said. "Am I really just a monster?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"Naruto" Hinata started. "I don't know what others may say to you but to me you will never be a monster. I liked you because of the way you were, and you should never change yourself. Accept your true self and remain the person I love…I love you" Hinata said as she stared into Naruto's eyes. Naruto felt a burden lifted off of his shoulders when he heard Hinata's words. 'Only Hinata can do that for me' Naruto thought. Naruto stared into Hinata's eyes as she stared into his. They got closer and closer to each other. They were less than an inch away from each other. Naruto closed the distance and kissed Hinata on the lips; 'So soft' Naruto thought as he kissed Hinata. Hinata kissed Naruto back. She loved every second of it and neither of them wanted to break away from the kiss. Eventually Naruto pulled back and ended the kiss.

"I love you too Hinata" Naruto said. "Thank you for being here for me."

"I'll always be here whenever you need me" Hinata said. "Anyways I kind of have to go now."

"Where?" Naruto asked.

"Team training with Kurenai Sensei" Hinata said.

"Let me walk you to the compound gates" Naruto said. Hinata nodded. She grabbed her ninja supplies and Naruto wore his shirt, vest and jacket and they walked to the gate.

Naruto and HInata reached the gates and bid their goodbyes to each other. "I guess I'll see you later" Naruto said to Hinata.

"Bye then Naruto" Hinata said to Naruto.

"Bye Hinata" Naruto said to Hinata. As Naruto was about to turn around and walk to his apartment Hinata quickly grabbed him and gave him a peck on the lips and then left for her training field. Naruto was caught completely off guard by Hinata's actions. Naruto smiled. He turned around and walked home to his apartment.

* * *

Naruto opened the door to his apartment and closed it behind him and locked it. He took off his jacket and jounin vest and threw it onto a chair. Naruto went over to his couch and laid down on it. 'I'm ready to face my true self' Naruto thought as he remembered what Hinata said about accepting his true self. Naruto slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto found himself standing in front of Kurama's gate. He found himself face to face with his true self. Kurama and the mystery man appeared from the darkness. "I want to see this" Kurama said as he expected Naruto to fail.

"Do not underestimate the boy Kurama" The mystery man said. "I sense a different air about him. He will do it this time." Naruto's true self growled at Naruto and dashed towards him once again like the last time. The creature got closer and closer to Naruto. Naruto didn't even try to move. The creature leaped into the air ready to attack Naruto. It came down and was about to pierce Naruto. Naruto remained calm and still. The creature landed lightly and transformed into an exact clone of Naruto.

"That's all I ever wanted" Naruto's true self spoke. "To be accepted and acknowledged by someone."

"I accept you" Naruto said. "I understand that to be acknowledged and accepted by others I must accept myself and acknowledge my own abilities."

"Thank you" Naruto's true self began to disappear until he was completely gone.

"Well done Naruto Uzumaki" The mystery man praised from behind the cage.

"Thank you" Naruto said feeling so at peace with himself.

"I know how you're feeling right now" The mystery man said. "At peace; it's a good feeling isn't it?" He asked rhetorically. Naruto looked at the mystery man.

"Who are you" Naruto asked calmly.

"You will find out in due time Naruto" The mystery man said.

"Well done Naruto" Kurama said. "We'll start your training to use my power once you've conditioned your body to be ready to handle it."

"Conditioned my body?" Naruto asked.

"Yes Naruto" Kurama said. "My power is too strong to be able to use without training. The training you are currently doing for The Flying Raijin Jutsu should be good enough. Many of my abilities require your body to be durable and tough."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Naruto asked. "A couple of days ago you wanted me to leave you alone."

"Because you remind me of someone" Kurama said with a smile as he looked at the mystery man standing beside him. "You were always kind to me Naruto, but I was just too arrogant and stuck up to become friendly with you, but that's over now. For now go to sleep and train. When you are ready I will tell you. Then you can see this mystery man and everything will be explained, but for now…sleep Naruto." Naruto began fading from his mind and drifted into a peaceful sleep where no thought disturbed him.

* * *

Back where Kurama was, the mystery man was telling Kurama something important.

"This boy" The mystery man started. "He will bring a great change in this world…and only he can determine whether it be a good one that leads to peace or a bad one that leads to this world's destruction. I just hope he doesn't make the same decision as I…for I ruined this world with my choice…

* * *

Author's Note: Okay guys, here's chapter 6. REALLY SORRY for the delay. What happened was that during while I was writing this chapter on my laptop, my laptop broke down. It took a couple of weeks to fix but, because the laptop was so broken that the memory had to be wiped which meant that I lost everything I wrote down. I took a week to write the chapter again. I made it extra long just because it was late.

Anyways tell me what you think of my theory of The Hiraishin or The Flying Raijin or whatever you want to call it. Also give me your guesses as to who the mystery man is in Naruto's mind. It should be pretty easy to guess. I gave a vague but pretty acurate description of his important features in this chapter. For Naruto and Sasuke's fight don't be mad that it wasn't too long because to me it wasn't supposed to be to big of a deal. Naruto is stronger than Sasuke right now. Many exciting things are coming. Naruto is soon going to master The Hiraishin and the Akatsuki are going to attack the Leaf. PLEASE ENJOY! LIKE! REVIEW!

P.S My schedule for posting chapters will be a little off because I have recently become very busy with school work.


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